


leave it all (in the game of love)

by rememberrogers



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Awesome Sam Wilson, Everyone Needs A Hug, Love at First Sight, M/M, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Other, POV Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-21 16:58:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17047079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rememberrogers/pseuds/rememberrogers
Summary: Steve Rogers has two best friends. Tony and Bucky, Bucky and Tony — they're his favorite people in the entire world. It's just that they fight. A lot.And when Steve finally realizes his feelings for them are not-so-platonic... Everything kind of goes downhill.Where Steve's equally oblivious as he is adorable, Tony and Bucky have way too much sexual tension and are also crazy overprotective over the object of both of their affections, and all of their friends, old and new, are just so over it. Ugh, high school.





	leave it all (in the game of love)

**Author's Note:**

> my first stuckony fic, yay! also, this ends during Christmastime, and i know i'm pushing it, but guys, i still made it yippyyyyyy. anyways, i'm a sucker for pre-serum steve, so here's tony and bucky being head-over-heels for him, too. title's from khalid's song, young dumb & broke. hope you enjoy!

Bucky Barnes throws the paper at the back of Steve Rogers’s head. Steve turns, sees him, rolls his eyes, then proceeds to pick up the paper.   
  
Steve's eyes light up a bit. He turns, scribbling his answer in, then throws it back at Bucky.   
  
Bucky catches it, grinning, and spreads it out on his desk.    
  
'Me + you pizza 4 dinner' reads Bucky's scrawl.   
  
'You're buying, but sure. :)' reads Steve's elegant writing.   
  
Bucky grins harder at it.   
  
“Pray tell, Mr. Barnes, what that paper in your hands says?” his teacher asks.   
  
Bucky wads the paper up before shoving it in his mouth, much to the other students' cheers and laughter, and he swallows it whole. “No idea,” he says arrogantly, leaning back in his chair and winking at Steve. Steve rolls his eyes, turning around to look to the front with a grin on his face, and a light blush across his cheeks.   
  
—————   
  
“I'm cold,” Steve mutters to himself as he waits in the seemingly endless line to get into the Sciences building. It was built not too long ago, not at all far from the school, but always containing a mile-long line.   
  
And in autumn and winter — it  _ sucks _ .   
  
Also considering the fact that Steve had to stay longer after class with Bucky because of the little stunt he pulled, he didn't get the opportunity to grab his coat.   
  
So, again, to no one in particular, Steve says, “I'm cold.”   
  
Abruptly, his shoulders are draped in a ridiculously expensive jacket, and the chill isn't that harsh on his bare arms. Accompanying it is a rich, metallic scent, and Steve grins, uncontrollably.   
  
“Hi, cold, I'm Tony,” Tony Stark says mockingly in his ear. Steve rolls his eyes, still grinning, and bats Tony's face away from his own.   
  
“Stop making stupid jokes,” he warns, but he knows his goofy grin is selling him out. Plus, Tony is beaming at him, so his “warning” voice almost certainly failed.    
  
Tony gasps. “That's asking me to stop being me, and I quite like me!”   
  
“You suck,” Steve tells him, and Tony literally falls dramatically to the ground, long-sleeved shirt getting wet in the thin layer of snow and mud. People around them continue to scroll on their phones, used to Tony's antics.   
  
Steve still blushes, though, and hurries to help Tony up.   
  
“You idiot,” he scolds lightly, juggling his books to one arm so he could flick off pieces of dirt and snow to the ground. Tony hums, visibly unbothered by everything that just happened.   
  
“ _ Your _ idiot,” he corrects, before pulling out his phone to check the time. He looks up, brow a bit strained. “Are you gonna be late?”   
  
Steve sighs. “Probably, but not because of you. Buck pulled a stupid stunt that kept us after class.”   
  
Tony's nostrils flair, just a bit. “Of course. Anyways — keep the jacket for now, I'm not having my Stevie cold out here.”   
  
Steve rolls his eyes. “Not yours, and you should take it if you're going to be — Wait,  _ Tony _ , it's second period, you should be inside right now!”   
  
“I hate humanities, so no thanks,” Tony grins. “Thought I'd check up on you before showing up halfway through.”   
  
Steve huffs. “You shouldn't be skipping.”   
  
“And you shouldn't be cold!” Tony exclaims. “Glad one of us is doing what has to be done!”   
  
Steve can't help the little laugh that's released. Tony smiles triumphantly.   
  
“I'm gonna go bother Bruce, but I'll see you at lunch, okay?” Tony says. Steve just nods.   
  
“'Course. And thanks for lending me your jacket, Tones,” Steve says, smiling softly.   
  
Tony winks. “Not that selfless, you look damn good in my clothes. Laters!”   
  
Steve watches as he dashes away before turning to face the Sciences building, this time warm in the scent of Tony.   
  
—————   
  
“Stevie!” Tony calls from their usual table. Steve sends him a tired smile, nudging Bucky along.   
  
“Hey, Tony,” Steve replies, walking over to the table. “I put your jacket in your locker,” he says, and Tony looks slightly put-out at the news, before shrugging it off, and looking over at Bucky, distastefully.   
  
“Fuck you, Barnes,” Tony greets Bucky like he does everyday, a very serious expression on his face. Bucky grunts.   
  
“Shut up, Stark.”   
  
Steve sighs. Natasha pushes Clint off the seat next to her, and Steve sends her a smile as he slides into the seat. Clint gives a long whine before Sam shoves a breadstick at him from the other side of Nat, and that shuts him up.   
  
Bucky plops down on the seat between Steve and an empty one. He glances over. “Where's my favorite?”   
  
Steve clears his throat.   
  
Bucky amends. “Where's my second favorite?”   
  
“Rhodey's doing "senior" stuff,” Tony huffs, his arms crossed. “So's Pepper.”   
  
Clint scoffs from the ground. “Not like she  _ ever _ sits next to us,” he says through a mouthful of bread.   
  
“That's because she's way cooler than us,” Natasha reminds him, and Steve nods in agreement.   
  
“Plus she never gets a day off from her various jobs,” Sam intoned. “Speaking of days off — Tomorrow night still on?”   
  
Natasha hmphs. “Missing out on the Odinson party would literally make us social rejects. Thor invites everyone.”   
  
“Even the creepy Maximoff Twins,” Tony shudders.   
  
Steve throws the Steve Is Very Disappointed In You face at him. “That's not very nice, Tony.”

  
Bucky snickers.  
  
Tony sulks under Steve's frown. “Everyone knows it, Stevie, it's not news.”  
  
“Boy Maximoff is kind of hot,” Clint pipes. Everyone 'ew's before throwing some sort of food at him. He shrugs, eating said food.  
  
Bucky rolls his eyes. “Anyways, yeah, we're all still going to the party. You're gonna get Banner, Stark?”  
  
“Of fucking course, Barnes,” Tony retorts, offended. Before Steve can scold him on his language, he continues: “ _And_ I'm gonna get Parker.”  
  
Natasha gives him a dry look. “He doesn't even need you, Tony. He has Shuri Odaku as a friend, he can go anywhere he wants, even as a freshman.”  
  
Tony lets out a low whine. “I still can't believe T'Challa's graduating, I feel so hurt.”  
  
“Right!” Steve agreed enthusiastically. “He's the best eye candy in the school!”  
  
Everyone at the table arches an eyebrow. Steve shrugs, defensive and blushing. Bucky and Tony simultaneously say, 'Huh'.  
  
“Right,” Sam changes the subject, “anyone want to throw an arm and leg in to help me with AP History? And I'm staring at Steve because he's the best at it.”  
  
No one denies it, and Steve flusters. “Can't, sorry. Buck and I are eating out tonight.”  
  
Tony rolls his eyes.  
  
Clint guffaws. “And that takes _all_ their time!”  
  
Natasha kicks him from the table, and Steve sends her a grateful look. Bucky clears his throat. “We're gonna be working on math homework.”  
  
“Then we can do that _together_ ,” Tony butts in. “Pre-Calc and Trig, right? I did that in my sleep in _fifth_ _grade_. I'll help, and then Wilson can pass AP History with Stevie's help.”  
  
Steve can feel Bucky pulsing with annoyance, and he himself is feeling somewhat bitter, but he just grins.  
  
“Okay,” he tells them. Bucky's jaw clenches in his peripheral, but Tony beams at him, so Steve grins more genuinely back. “The more the merrier.”  
  
—————  
  
“I wanted it to be _our_ night,” Bucky complains as soon as last period is over. He's leaning against the locker next to Steve's, hair pulled up, arms crossed and flexing underneath his black leather jacket. Steve averts his eyes to scroll in the combination to his locker.  
  
“Tony's right, we should help Sam,” Steve says, voice a little too optimistic. “And Tony can probably help you more than I ever could.”  
  
Bucky huffs. “Tony, Tony, Tony. When does Stark _not_ influence your decisions?”  
  
Steve sends him a dry look. “If Tony influenced all of my decisions, we wouldn't be having this conversation. He thinks you're equivalent to an absentee father.”  
  
Bucky's posture tenses. “He's an asshole. He doesn't even know the whole fucking story.”  
  
“He's also my best friend,” Steve warns lightly. “And you don't know his whole story, either.”  
  
“I know enough, and no, Steve, _I'm_ your best friend,” Bucky whines. Steve rolls his eyes, shoving his backpack on his back.  
  
“You don't count,” he says, slamming his locker shut. “Anyways, Tony was here for me for the four years you weren't, and he means a lot to me. Don't be so rude to him.”  
  
“He starts it!” Bucky groans. “He acts real innocent around you, but in reality — arrogant, stuck-up, rich, know-it-all, man-slut, high maintenance, mainstream, selfish, wanna-be-cool, overrated _dickwad_.”  
  
“He was my friend when I was Depressed Steve, he is not anything you just said.” Steve thinks about it. “Except the arrogant rich part.”  
  
“Exactly!” Bucky exclaims.  
  
Steve sighs. “Bucky, he offered to help us. He's always offering to help us! I get that you wanted us to hang out tonight alone, catch up some more — even though we've been catching up for a _year_ now — but Tony only has the best intentions. Honestly, we can't go a single conversation without arguing about him.”  
  
Bucky sniffs, face the very picture of someone after a Just Yelled At By Steve Rogers encounter. “Fine. I'll try and be nice to him. But just know this, Steve — he offers to help _you_. Not me. I'm just always with you, so he has to.”  
  
Steve rolls his eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”   
  
“Sleeping! I'm sleeping over since we're not getting the evening together!” Bucky exclaims.  
  
Steve can't help the fond smile that slips over his lips. “Okay, Buck.” Then he grabs ahold of Bucky's sleeve and pulls. “Now, come on. Nat and I agreed to take Sam's car.”  
  
—————

  
“FUCK YOU, BARNES!”   
  
Steve massages his temples. So much for the 'try and be nice to him' promise from Bucky. Natasha sends him an empathetic look, but otherwise avoids trying to control Bucky's and Tony's verbal dispute.   
  
Even Rhodey, from the other side of Steve's living room, steadfastly ignores the two in favor of going over Clint's science homework with him.  _ No one _ voluntarily helps Clint with science!   
  
Sam, next to Steve, is very avidly looking at his phone, the screen even tilted toward Steve's direction to display that he's currently texting his mother.    
  
Steve feels the highest amount of betrayal from that, since Sam knows of Steve's unconditional love for Mrs. Wilson, yet he still uses it against him.   
  
“ — can put that on your fucking grave, Stark,” Bucky's hissing.    
  
Tony snorts. “And you can put on yours that the reason you didn't graduate high school was because of your stupid stubbornness to fail to admit that you can't — ”   
  
“I'M NOT LYING WHEN I SAY I KNOW HOW TO DIVIDE QUINTIC POLYNOMIALS!”   
  
“Bucky! Tony!” Steve admonishes, finally. The two immediately straighten up, eyes reluctantly looking in Steve's direction.   
  
“Stevie?” Tony says, falsely innocent. Bucky just gives him a shit-eating grin and an arched eyebrow.   
  
“Can you two stop? It's fifteen minutes in, and the only thing any of us have covered is that Clint still doesn't know what the main function of the kidney is!”   
  
Clint opens his mouth to protest before Rhodey elbows him in the side. Sulking, he gives a small nod of agreement.   
  
Steve exhales. “So, please, both of you, separate. Tony, sit next to me on this side, and Buck, sit next to me on this side. Tony will communicate through me, okay? Sam, I'll help you in ten minutes.”   
  
Sam, quick to reply, nods and scrambles to Rhodey and Clint.    
  
Nat, grinning slightly, leans over to whisper, 'good luck', then scoots over to give Tony room to sit. Steve sighs.   
  
The two boys, sheepishly gathering their books, trudge along to Steve's side. But, unsubtly as much as he attempts it to  _ be _ subtle, Tony quickens to pick his supplies up to gain the time to step on one of Bucky's discarded books. Bucky's teeth are barred when he looks up, before he glances at Steve and goes back to expeditiously picking his stuff up.    
  
Steve grits his teeth. It's gonna be a long evening.   
  
Three pizzas, Steve's mom's arrival and leaving, Steve and Bucky and Sam's homework done with Clint's science homework forever  _ un _ done, some creepy Netflix documentary episodes completed, and a few hours of intense glaring between Tony and Bucky later; Tony's phone rings.   
  
Tony glances down at it. Frowns. When Steve elbows him softly in the side, he gestures that he's gonna leave the room, a sloppy, trying-to-be-reassuring smile thrown Steve's way.   
  
When he answers, his voice is annoyed: “Hello? Why are you calling?”    
  
Steve stares behind him worriedly as he disappears into Steve's kitchen, phone pressed to his ear. He catches eye contact with Rhodey, who also looks slightly concerned from Tony's leaving.   
  
It's twenty minutes later, after the episode ends, that Tony leaves the kitchen. At the same moment, Natasha and Clint are standing, stretching and preparing to leave. Bucky's asleep, head inches away from Steve's thigh. Tony's eyes look tired, almost sleep-deprived, and Steve stands, as well.   
  
Steve opens his mouth with a question on his lips, but Tony instead heads over to Rhodey, pulling him to the side. Steve ignores the sinking feeling in him at the action. Tony and Rhodey have been friends for over a decade — of course Tony would go to him in a time of distress.   
  
Of course.   
  
“Well, we're leaving,” Clint yawns. “Frankly, my dad's a dick, and I have to be home very, very soon, and Nat... Nat, what are you doing again?”   
  
“Things,” she shrugs. She checks the time on her phone. “Soon. Sorry, Steve, we're leaving.”   
  
Sam stands, too, and stretches. “Same, man. Mom'll kill me if I stayed over and didn't tell her.”   
  
Steve nods, understanding. “Of course, yeah. See you guys tomorrow.”   
  
“And at the party!” Sam cheers, as they head to the door. Steve rolls his eyes, smiling a bit.   
  
“ _ Yes _ , Sam, and at the party. Bye!” he calls after them.   
  
When he gets back into the living room, Bucky's still asleep, and Rhodey and Tony seem to have just finished talking. Rhodey looks upset, and Tony still looks bone-tired. Steve wants to give him a hug.   
  
“Steve, I'm sorry to bother you, but can I stay over?” Tony's deep brown eyes looks exhausted, and Steve melts inside for his best friend. “There's been... problems at the house.”   
  
Given that Tony's house is a literal mansion with tons of people working to keep  _ problems _ from happening, Steve yearns to ask what the “problems” are, but he knows Tony well enough just to say:   
  
“Of course, Tony, anytime.”   
  
Which prompts a growl from the floor behind him.   
  
He sighs.   
  
“Tony, Bucky's staying over, as well,” Steve explains. Tony's tired face seems to immediately become animate.   
  
“Great,” he says, so falsely enthused that Bucky stands, offended air radiating off him. Rhodey now looks less upset and more amusedly irritated.   
  
“Yeah, sorry, Steve, but you can deal with these two, I'm going,” he huffs. “If either one of them dies, you have four witnesses that will vouch for you.”   
  
Ignoring Bucky and Tony's new glaring match, Steve sighs, wearily. “Gee, thanks, Jim.”   
  
Rhodey's laugh follows him out the door, and Steve smiles at the closed door. Then turns around, briskly.   
  
“Mom threw out the Super Comfy Mattress from the spare room since it was infected with cockroaches,” Steve starts. Bucky and Tony look over to him, noses scrunched up. It's actually sort of cute.   
  
“Ew.” They say simultaneously, before they go back to glaring at each other.   
  
Steve tsks before continuing. “Whichever one of you that says the first rude thing to the other is sleeping on the dusty, spider-webby cot in the spare room. The other gets the couch, including Netflix privileges. If neither of you barb, we’ll share my room like last time. If anything gets physical like the last time we tried a sleepover with the three of us, I will not hesitate to tell my mother the worst stories possible of either of you. Bucky, that includes her favorite vase thing, and Tony, that includes the Quill Party of Last Year.” They both wince. “If I decide I'm tired of the unsubtle glaring matches, I will set up a tent on the roof of the building, and proceed to make both of you sleep in there, side by side, with one blanket. I am exhausted, annoyed, and done with you two not getting along. So tonight will go flawlessly. Correct?”   
  
The two, mouths gaping open at him and eyes wide, just nod. Steve beams at them.   
  
“Perfect. Now, ice cream and Voltron?”   
  
—————   
  


Steve smiles, happy at the serenity of the quiet. The TV continues to bleed the words and actions of the  _ Voltron: Legendary Defenders _ characters, and Tony and Bucky stay on the opposite sides of Steve, staying so obediently quiet that Steve could kiss them.   
  
He should've known it wouldn't last long.   
  
“You better fucking get Hawaiian!” is heard muffled from Steve's neighbor's side of the brownstone. Steve huffs a laugh at it, and the other two grin themselves. It's over like that.   
  
_ Except it isn't. _   
  
“It just doesn't belong on there,” Tony murmurs, and Steve rolls his eyes, already familiar with the argument that Tony is stirring up — but Bucky, of course, just hmphs. Tony tenses, more than ever.   
  
Steve heaves a breath.   
  
“You don't like pineapple on your pizza, Stark?” Bucky asks casually, with a menacing tone underneath. Steve nudges him, warningly, but Bucky just looks at him innocently.   
  
“Hawaiian pizza is not only idiotically named, Barnes, it's also disgusting,” Tony intones lightly, a small, grimacing smile on his lips, and Steve fantasizes a life where he was twice his own skinny size and could bodily harm them into not being such jerks to each other.   
  
_ Somewhere _ , he mentally sighs.   
  
“A lot of people have those opinions,” Steve just says, and the other two stay silent grudgingly.   
  
Half an episode later, with Bucky's feet tucked underneath his butt and Tony tucked into his side despite their considerable size difference, again, one of Steve's neighbors yell, “YOU DIDN'T GET THE HAWAIIAN, I HATE YOU!”   
  
Steve internally groans.   
  
“Me, too, Steve's Neighbor,” Bucky agrees smugly and victoriously — which doesn't even make sense, Buck,  _ you dumb butt _ .   
  
Tony chuckles quietly. “Honestly? I'd take the hate rather than have Hawaiian under any roof I'm under.”   
  
Bucky hums, condescendingly. “I'd not allow any other pizza than Hawaiian under any roof I'm under.”   
  
Then Steve snorts. The two of them look at him in surprise.   
  
Steve turns only a bit pink. Then he huffs, irritated. “You're both ridiculous.”   
  
Bucky shifts in his seat, embarrassed even if he's not sure why. Tony does the same, but pipes, “Why, this time?”   
  
Steve lets out a soft laugh at that, then explains.   
  
“This time, because you, Tony Stark, always let me have Hawaiian pizza at your house, and you, Bucky Barnes, always let me get pepperoni when I'm at yours.”   
  
Steve watches, bemused, as deep color fills Tony's cheeks, and as the tips of Bucky's ears turn firetruck red. Bucky wets his lips, letting out a low grunt, and Tony starts anxiously tapping his chest. Steve lets out a bright laugh.   
  
“Well — ” Bucky starts.   
  
“ — with you, I can handle a couple of pineapples — ” Tony continues slowly.   
  
“ — and I can handle some no pineapple pizza — ”   
  
“  — otherwise, just the smell makes me sick — ”   
  
“ — and I have to count to ten without any of that pineapple tang — ”   
  
“Because, y'know,” Tony clears his throat.    
  
Bucky glances at Tony, then at Steve, then away. “It's you, Steve.”   
  
Steve feels something clench inside of him at that, and his cheeks heat up incredibly. It'd be a good thing the lights are dim, but the other two know Steve well enough to know that he's flushed. They both keep their eyes away from him, attempting and failing to look engaged in watching the show.   
  
Steve rolls his eyes at them. “You're both idiots,” he says, tone soft and affectionate. He watches again as Tony's cheeks and Bucky's ears redden. They're avoiding eye contact with both him and each other, and Steve grins wider, his stomach feeling all fluttery and light. Looking at the two, stupid boys before him, Steve truly believes that the best thing that ever happened to him was falling in —   
  
His eyes widen.   
  
He sits up, abruptly.   
  
Falling in — Falling in, what? He scrambles to attain his thought process from five seconds ago. Falling in...  _ In love _ ? Is that how Steve feels toward Bucky and Tony? Love — like serious,  _ romantic  _ love? Towards both of them?   
  
This is ridiculous. Steve has to be much more tired than he thought. He's — Well, okay,  _ yeah _ , Steve  _ is _ bisexual, but he's had no interest in polyamorous relationships, so why the fuck is he thinking about kissing Bucky then kissing Tony directly after —   
  
“Stevie!” Tony shouts. Steve zones back into the moment, eyes adjusting. Bucky's holding his shoulder, looking awfully worried, and Tony is looking pretty much the same. And, honestly, that helps Steve's current crisis in no way whatsoever.  _ Gosh _ .   
  
“Oh, gosh, guys, sorry — Just. Zoned out a bit,” he excuses, his mind still racing. In love. With Tony. And Bucky. With Bucky and Tony.

_ Oh my god! _   
  
Bucky's eyebrows furrow, deeper. “Are you sure, Steve?”   
  
“Maybe we should go to bed,” Tony suggests, voice full of concern. Steve, through his panic, let's a smile bleed out.   
  
“Guys, seriously — I'm fine. I  _ am _ tired, but I also want to finish this episode,” he tells them. “After that, we'll go to bed.”   
  
The other two, eyes so intensely studious on him that he feels himself burn deep in the cheeks and neck, stay quiet for awhile before shrugging in unison.   
  
“Fine,” Bucky says.    
  
“But if this is some plot just to get me to bed before two am, you suck, Stevie,” Tony informs Steve, voice light and teasing. Steve just flushes harder.   
  
“Not an evil plan,” Steve says, eyes averting to the screen instead of the two boys in front of him. “Now, come on, let's watch it!”

 

—————

Steve’s five years old and Bucky’s five, and they are one hundred percent certain that they will be side by side, together forever.

 

“You knock Steve over, I knock you over,” Bucky growls at a seven-year-old bully. It’s the first day of first grade, and Steve’s annoyed at the time, convinced that his size matters the least, and that he can beat the worst of the bullies, they should just try him.

He's wrong.

“I told 'im not to do it, Missuss Rogers!” Bucky's complaining. He stands directly next to her, surveying her work on Steve's face. Steve's got a blooming bruise underneath his eye, but one of the other guy’s baby teeth came out, so. Hmph. 

(Needless to say that was because of Bucky, but Steve did get a bit of a punch in there.)

Mrs. Rogers just smiles indulgently, though around her eyes are stressed. “I know you did, Bucky, but Steve’s a stubborn guy. Just like you.”

Bucky's still bothered with Steve for the rest of the day, until Steve shows him a drawing he did of the two of them — he knew that'd cheer Bucky right up.

Now Steve's ten years old, Bucky’s eleven, and they're leaving the fifth grade. 

With two black eyes, three broken bones, an asthma attack, a broken baby tooth and two bright, matching grins between the two of them.

“We beat  _ four _ guys, ma!” Steve's exclaiming. Bucky looks on proudly. “We bested  _ four _ older guys!”

Sarah Rogers isn't so lenient this time.

“Yes, Steven Grant Rogers, and you've also just about killed yourself,” she snaps. “And you, James Buchanan Barnes, are just lucky I haven't called your mother.”

At that, the two boys turn pale.

“Oh, no, Mrs. Rogers, I’m real sorry about all this,” Bucky quickens to apologize, and Steve's gushing out, “No, Ma, don't, this was all my fault, I shouldn't’ve yelled at them, but it's just that they were being mean to Sam Wilson for bein’ different than them!”

Bucky's mother wasn't a good ma, not like Steve’s, or Sam Wilson's ma on the block over. No, Bucky's mother was a mean ma, and everyone on Bucky's side of the neighborhood and then some knew it. Bucky hated it.

Steve knows that's why his own ma softens at their words. “Oh, I — I’m not going to tell your ma, Bucky, okay? But I do have to get both of you to the hospital, now. You're lucky I’m a nurse, and can sneak you rascals in.”

Bucky looks relieved, and Steve can't help feeling the same way — Bucky's always in a sour mood after dealing with his ma.

Which is exactly how he was on the day after Steve's twelfth birthday.

But with worse news.

He came over at two in the morning, by way of sneaking through Steve's window, two stories up since Steve's room is upstairs in the brownstone they share with the neighbors. Steve’s ma would kill him if she knew, but the two best friends made a pact that if one came through the other’s window it was purely for Code Red emergencies. But Steve is more upset than worried — he'd had a party earlier, and everyone on the list came except for Bucky. He was beyond  _ angry _ .

“ — and that nosey Sunset Bain kept bothering me about ya, and I know Clint was sorry for having to bring her along, but  _ gee,  _ was Bain annoying as — ”

“I’m leaving, Steve,” Bucky blurted. Steve stopped his pacing, and turned to stare at Bucky.

Steve huffs. “What?”

“I’m running away,” Bucky says.

His best friend since…  _ ever. _

“What?” Steve asks again, because he had to have heard that wrong. They're a month away from seventh grade, where they could finally try out for clubs and sports and — and Bucky was  _ leaving _ ? It had to be wrong.

“I’m running away, Steve,” Bucky repeats, and he's avoiding eye contact, like he  _ knows  _ how stupid he's being. Steve wants to thunk him on the head, and yell,  _ duh _ ! “I’ve got family in Astoria, I know it, so I’m going there. See if I can find them.”

Steve continues to stare blankly at Bucky. 

“I don’t understand,” Steve says after a long, pregnant pause. 

Bucky abruptly huffs and stands, pushing away from Steve's bed and toward his desk. “It’s really simple, Steve. I’m leaving Brooklyn.”

Steve's mind racing. “You — You can't, Buck. I — Why now? Why are you leaving — I don't get it — ”

Bucky shakes his head, eyes pained. “Don’t — It's — It's because of her, Steve. You know that. You must’ve — I can't do it anymore.”

Steve stares deep into Bucky's blue eyes, into those pools of memories, and feels something in him tighten up, his mind on repeat, saying,  _ keep him, keep him, keep him, keep him... _

And Steve shakes his head, knowing what Bucky means, but  _ hating  _ it, and  _ hating  _ it, and  _ hating  _ that woman that acts like she deserves to be at all related to Bucky Barnes _. _

“But — But can't you just move in with us? With me and ma? We’ll — We’ll take care of you, you know that, Bucky — ” Steve tries.

“That’s out of question, Steve, you know that. This is the first place she'd look. Heck, your ma's been more of my mother than  _ she’s  _ ever been.” Bucky sighs. “Steve, if I mess up again, she — she  _ ruins _ me. If I go out without permission again, she — So if I go to you again, she'll — ” he chokes off, wincing, and Steve lets out a watery breath of air.

“ _This is because of me!”_ Steve gasps, eyes suddenly burning, and he feels _terrible_ , he feels like _the worse,_ and it's all his fault his best friend is leaving, and heck, _Bucky is_ _leaving_ —

“No, no, no, no, Steve, it's not,” Bucky's suddenly reassuring him, and Steve barely registers that he's now crying. Bucky's hands go up and down his upper arms, but it's hardly comforting.

“It _is_ , Buck!” Steve snaps, and Bucky jumps away at the harsh tone. “And, oh — I should be comforting _you,_ but I even messed _that_ up — ”

“Steve,” Bucky interrupts. “This is not your fault. This is — This is a stupid game she plays, she messes with my head, and it's exactly why I have to leave — ”

Steve lets out a choked sob, throwing his skinny arms around Bucky’s neck. “But I don't _ want  _ you to leave.”

Bucky throws his own arms around Steve's waist, hugging desperately back. “And I don't want to leave you! — gosh, I don't, Steve, but — but I can't do this anymore, you've gotta understand that.”

Five, ten, twenty minutes pass of them just standing there, wrapped in an embrace, until Bucky pushes away. Steve feels himself lurch at the loss.

Bucky shoves his jacket on. Steve whimpers.

“My bags are down below. I get that you'll probably tell your ma, but by then, I’ll be on a train to Astoria, so.” Bucky shrugs, sliding his shoes on. Steve sniffles.

“What’s — What's gonna happen when you get there?” Steve asks, his voice smaller than it’s ever been before.

Bucky shrugs again. “My aunt and uncle will know what to do. They work for some big shot company, weapons type of thing, so they've got money and connections. Ever since they confronted my mom about how she treats me, she's made sure to avoid them, but. But I think they'll help.”

Steve's hopes soar. “But if — If they have money, they'll be able to take you back, right? When all the moving is over?”

Bucky looks down. “I hope.”

They stand there again, so young, lost, but still so  _ mature, _ before Bucky turns on his heels. “See you around, Steve.”

“Bucky — ” Steve starts, but Bucky's out the window, already moving down the building. When Steve looks out, Bucky's hitting the ground. He's gone before Steve can say another word. Deep in Steve's chest, down where no one will ever see with the plain eye, he feels something just —  _ break. _

In the morning, Steve tells his mom. His mom doesn't tell Bucky's mom, and instead hugs Steve until he feels like his guts are popping out, but he still wants her to hug him harder.

He promises himself to never become this close to another person again.

  
  


He breaks that promise in less than six months after, though.

Steve's still twelve when he meets Tony Stark.

He's sitting alone, like he always does nowadays, not from lack of friends but from lack of social connection, when he hears, clear as day:

“You cock-sucking queer!”

And since maybe all days are the wrong days for Steve, whoever those homophobic assholes are,  _ definitely _ picked the wrong day. 

Steve stands up, fists clenched, and clears his mind, prepared for a fight.

When he turns the school building’s corner, coming face to face to the bully scene itself, he sees two eighth graders picking on another kid — someone Steve recognizes from the front of class. He’s the new rich kid who's apparently the next Doogie Howser.

Steve huffs.

“ — why don't you just cry to your daddy, huh? Bet he'll make it all better with — ”

“Boatloads of money that you'll never see in your sad, pitiful lives?” the new kid retorts, and Steve gives him kudos for it before the kid gets punched in the gut in response. Steve winces.

“Hey, meatheads!” he calls, and all three students turn to look at him. “Yeah, you two! Why don't you just leave him alone?”

The two roll their eyes. The skinnier one of the two taunts, “Lookie here, it's little Steve Rogers. You know without your big boyfriend to defend you, you aren't that scary, Rogers.”

Steve’s jaw clenches at the mention of Bucky.

“But I don't need him to know that you're both morons with a combined IQ of pi,” Steve scoffs. The kid on the ground, still clutching his stomach, gives a choked laugh at that. The bigger one kicks him in the side.

“That makes no sense, dipshit!” the skinny one laughs. “Pie is a food!”

Steve looks down, genuinely offended by the boy’s idiocy. “Oh, man.”

He saunters over, and doesn't flinch when the bigger one comes at him at the same time. The skinny one seems to accept that it's the end of the conversation, because he begins to kick at the new kid.

Steve smiles at the bigger one when they're face-to-face. “Hey, fella. Watch your legs.”

The boy blinks. “What?”

Steve kicks at the thick logs beneath the boy, and despite his sad amount of strength, the element of surprise assisted him, and the boy goes down, cursing him. Steve lunges over him, coming in contact to the new kid and the skinny one. Who is promptly being whacked with a binder, courtesy of the new kid. Steve grins, then sprints over.

“Come on, new kid, we've gotta get going — they have friends!” Steve calls, wrapping his hand around the kid's arm. The kid looks over, then nods, pushing his backpack on. 

Then they grin at each other, and start running.

“YOU’RE DEAD, ROGERS!” one of the voices yells. “YOU, TOO, STARK!”

But they're out of sight, off of school grounds and deeper into the city. The new kid is laughing in exhilaration, and Steve feels his own genuine grin stretching on his face, placed there without his permission for the first time since Bucky left.

“You were  _ amazing _ !” the kid yells at Steve, and Steve feels his neck heat up.

They stop at a pizza parlor, three blocks away from Steve's neighborhood. Steve instantly takes his inhaler out, which makes the new kid gape at him through his panting.

“You — You have _asthma_?” he gawks. “And you _still_ interfered with me and those assholes?”

Steve finishes puffing, then frowns. “Yeah, and I  _ helped _ you. My illnesses didn't stop me from doing that.”

The kid stops breathing so heavily, and stands up straight, hands up in front of him. “No, no, no, no, man, do  _ not  _ take that the wrong way! You're fucking badass!”

Steve feels his cheeks heat up hotter than the sun. 

The kid brings a hand up, and grins. “I’m Tony Stark — genius, kid billionaire, school hottie, philanthropist. It's very nice to meet you.”

Steve feels laughter bubbling up his throat without his consent at the introduction (what even is a  _ philanthropist _ ?), and before he can stop it, he's giggling uncontrollably. 

When he finally straightens, Tony is staring at him with a strange look in his eye — not necessarily a bad one, though, which Steve considers a victory. 

Steve takes a fleeting moment to study Tony Stark, to look into his brown eyes, at the small dimple peeking out as a crease in his left cheek, at the bright but tentative smile directed toward Steve, and again, those brown,  _ brown _ eyes that are looking at Steve like he just showed Tony the world.

Steve feels  _ thrilled. _

Steve firmly shakes Tony's hand. “I’m Steve Rogers, Tony. And it's beyond nice to meet you, too.”

Tony beams at him, and not for the last time.

A year or so later, Steve's almost out of his thirteenth year of living, Tony's fourteen, and they know each other almost as well as Bucky himself knew Steve.

Tony's constantly at Steve's place — and Steve’s ma absolutely lives for it. She was a sucker for Tony's charming grin the first day Steve brought Tony home, and it’s only gotten worse. She also has a mile wide soft spot for Edwin Jarvis, Tony’s butler who once stayed for dinner when Tony’s parents gave a raincheck to the one-month prior planned date. Steve guesses that's when he started loving Jarvis, too — when he saw Tony relax and be happy with Jarvis in a way he never had when Steve met up with him and his parents.

They're rarely at Tony's house, only when Rhodey, Tony's  _ fifteen-year-old _ friend who is literally the coolest person Steve's ever met, comes over. When Rhodey comes over, despite them being all mid-teenage boys, they become complete children, and even play a stupid military game that Tony refuses to fully participate in, sticking to creating play guns that actually look real and sometimes that makes Steve question just how smart Tony is.

That's another thing — it's no secret to Steve that Tony could probably be in college by now. But Tony's always spoke in annoyance at skipping grades, even though his father wants him to. (Steve is very hush-hush about it, but he is strongly in the opinion that Tony should forever stay in his current grade.) Tony used to go to a private school, but managed to convince his ma to let him out — who convinced his dad, who apparently is  _ very  _ hard to convince, so Tony says he tries his best to be able to stay in public school. (Steve is also very hush-hush about this, but he feels that maybe Tony shouldn't be hanging out with a stubborn fighter like him, then.)

Tony’s bigger now. He’s not like he used to be — scrawny, the same height as Steve, not knowing how to throw a punch. Sometime overnight, like it always seems to happen to everyone besides Steve, Tony got… well,  _ bigger.  _ And, if you asked Steve, somehow more… well, uh —  _ handsome. _ Steve's been the same Steve since forever — which doesn't exactly set people off of befriending him, but Tony sure gets a lot more attention from strangers than Steve gets himself. 

They've got friends though — Natasha and Sam, who're Steve's and Bucky's good friends from elementary school and sixth grade, immediately liked Tony a whole lot, adapting quickly. And Rhodey, of course, and Clint, who’s Nat’s best friend. Bruce Banner, one of Tony's genius friends, often drops in to talk, and everybody loves Bruce. Thor, who's very athletic, and even more popular than Tony with his — er —  _ good looks,  _ sits with them almost daily, besides when Loki, his brother, is getting into some sort of trouble. 

So, they have friends outside of each other — they just spend most of their time alone together. Which Steve honestly wouldn't change for much.

Like a lot of their time together, they're sitting on Steve's living room floor, having another argument — something not quite as present in Steve's former best friendship, but something vital to the continuation of this one. They tried to stop arguing for a week, and Tony literally punched himself in the face. That made Steve mad which Tony didn't understand why,  so they started arguing. They felt much better.

“People trust in the authorities, and they turn any suspicious behavior in, Stevie!” Tony groans. “It doesn't matter the sob story, the authorities have laws that will consider said sad story, and these victims get really good help when they just  _ go to the authorities _ !”

Steve feels very passionately about this certain subject, though. 

“Sometimes it's deeper than that, Tony,” he says angrily. “Sometimes they can't just — just go in by themselves, sometimes they have to think it through, make a plan that comforts them — ”

“ — and at the end of that plan, they go the authorities!” Tony exclaims cheerfully, like Steve finally understands English.

“ _ Maybe _ , but you've got to see that the authorities won't always help! Sometimes — Sometimes the police are blind to what's happening, sometimes teachers are blind, and sometimes parents are blind. Heck, sometimes even best friends are blind to the situation.”

And Tony stops smiling so brightly. His face loses the light, and he stares comprehendingly at Steve. Steve slumps further into himself.

He hasn't exactly gone into who Bucky Barnes was. Doesn't think he ever will, Tony just knows that Buck was his best friend, but then he left Steve, which made Steve depressed. 

If you really study his reactions, which Steve tries his best not to do, Tony's actually not very fond of Bucky.

But Tony's really smart, and it's quite obvious Steve’s getting into a Depressed Steve Moment. So Tony nudges him a bit, and smiles wryly when Steve looks up.

“When I was seven years old, my dad hit me on the side of the head with an empty bottle of vodka,” Tony says, and he's looking at Steve's collar bones instead of his face. “Jarvis was going to call the police, but my mom jumped in before he could. Calmed everyone down, except my dad, she just sent him to his study. After Jarvis patched me up, she led me to bed for the first time since I was baby, hugged me for like thirty minutes, then kissed my forehead and left. It was the first time my dad drunkenly hit me, and ironically, the last time my mom hugged me for longer than two seconds.”

Tony looks back to Steve, and Steve feels his heart melt at the sight of those big, sad, brown eyes. “I get that victims don't always want to go to the police right away, and that they often hide away from their family and friends. I guess I’m arguing more that people  _ should _ , not that they  _ do _ .”

Steve crawls over to his best friend, and plops his head on Tony’s shoulder. His heart hurts as the words ‘ _ It was the  _ first time _ my dad drunkenly hit me’  _ echo around in his head.

He just hurts sometimes with all the emotion in his brain, and for the millionth time, Steve wishes he didn't feel.

But he remembers he has to — if not for himself, for his mom, for Mrs. Wilson, Sam’s mom, for Sam, for Nat, for Rhodey, for Clint, for the people that are still nice to Steve even after he was depressed, and for  _ Tony. _

“I’m sorry, Tony,” Steve whispers. Tony laughs, just a bit wetly.

“Not your fault, Stevie,” Tony whispers back. “But you know what is? That we've been here for three hours and we haven't gotten a single bit of homework done. You’re lucky I’m a genius.”

And that's not the last time one of them hurt and the other felt it deep in him.

A couple years later and Steve's just turned sixteen, Tony's sixteen, and Bucky's aunt and uncle have just come in contact with Steve and his mother.

“What do you mean, he’s  _ back _ ?” Tony growls. 

Steve smiles wide, just this side of sheepish. “I mean exactly what I’m saying!” he exclaims. “Bucky’s back.”

And doesn’t that send chills up Steve's spine.

Tony’s brows furrow lightly, a frown rising on his lips. “And you aren't  _ mad _ ?”

Steve purses his lips. “I didn't really tell you everything, Tones. He… He had good reason to go. He had to figure things out.”

“He left you,” Tony says bluntly, and Steve already knows, deep down inside, it's gonna take less than the five minutes he currently has to make Tony warm up to Bucky.

He's ready to try, though. Forever, if it takes that, because Steve  _ needs  _ these two boys.

“I know, but there was good reason behind it!” Steve insists. “But he's coming in a minute to meet you. Because I’d really like for you two to meet.”

Tony stares at Steve, studiously, before looking away and scratching the back of his head. He shuts his eyes for a moment before nodding. “Uh — Yeah. Yeah, let him in, let me meet the dude.”

It didn't go so well.

 

—————

Steve grins, yelling over the music. “It’s better than last year’s, Thor! Just make sure Tony stays away from the beer pong table!”

Thor laughs, heartily. “Of course, Steve! And if you see my brother, tell  _ him _ to stay away as well!”

Steve nods, grinning wide and fond, before ducking back into the crowds. 

The huge Odinson home pulses with teenage energy. There's music vibrating in the background, legal and illegal drinks being passed around, people dancing half-naked and fully naked alike, and the lights are low, setting a mood as Steve attempts to find Tony, or even Bucky (he's  practically invisible in a party scene).

Steve, although he continues searching, feels a pit of despair bloom in his stomach. He knows that if he finds either of his best friends they're going to be in one of two situations — either doing stupid things half-naked and stupid drunk, or making out with some mysterious person whilst  _ being _ stupid drunk.

Usually Steve wouldn't be so upset, just slightly annoyed with fond exasperation, if he found his best friends in one of those positions. But now — now with these…  _ feelings  _ known, well. 

Steve wouldn't be so fond to find either one of them in situation number two.

Feeling tired and irritated, cursing himself for coming to this stupid party like he ends up doing every year even though he hates parties, he dodges into the kitchen, grabbing a tightly capped water. Steve Rogers does not drink, sadly enough — he'd probably fall over where his skinny, long legs placed him.

Sam walks in from the opposite door of the kitchen, and brightens when he sees Steve. “Hey, man!”

Steve sighs, but smiles nonetheless. “Hi, Sam.”

Sam shakes his head before Steve can get another word out. “Why are you already being a downer? We got here like two hours ago.”

Steve groans. “I know, I know, it’s just — I’m tired, and I have no idea where Bucky and Tony are, so — ”

“Aw, shit, now that’s serious,” Sam tells him most unhelpfully. “Tony really fucked things up last year at Quill's.”

Steve shudders at the mention of it.

“Honestly, if they just stayed still for five seconds, I wouldn't be worrying,” Steve mutters darkly. Sam throws a hand on his shoulder.

“I know, Steve, but you gotta understand where they're coming from!” Sam insists. “We’re at a party — let loose a bit!”

Steve sighs. “I know, Sam, but I also just want to make sure they don't mess anything up.”

Sam's opening his mouth, obviously to try another consoling attempt, when —

“STEVEN! SAM!” Thor’s booming voice rings from the end of the hallway Steve and Sam are tucked in. “COME JOIN EVERYONE AND I IN A GAME OF TRUTH AND DARE!”

Sam squints. “Will he ever  _ not  _ talk like a Viking when it's a party he's throwing?”

“Has been for four years, don't get why he'd stop now,” Steve laughs, then, louder, calls to Thor: “Sure! We’ll be over in a second!”

“Thought you were tired?” Sam asks, fingering his keys on his belt even though he was trying to get Steve to stay just a second ago — Sam’s probably the most supportive and nicest friend ever. Steve shakes his head, smiling a bit, and they're already moving down the hall.

“Somebody’s gotta watch my two idiot best friends,” Steve mutters, and Sam laughs. 

They follow Thor’s voice to a large bedroom on the second floor, and get to an open room with the most popular seniors — Steve and Sam share a glance, just  _ slightly  _ confused as to why they’re there.

Tony and Bucky are sat as far away from each other as possible, and Steve doubts they even know that the other is in the room. Tony’s surrounded by four fawning girls, a carelessly charming grin alighting his tipsy features, and Bucky seems to be in the same position, but he's also focusing on stacking three empty beer bottles on each other.

Steve knows, quite clearly, that both Bucky and Tony are beyond his school status — everyone loves Tony, and everyone love Bucky. Tony’s the smart, rich, handsome playboy that could probably get any girl or guy he wanted, and Bucky’s the mysterious, funny, sexy bad boy that could probably get any girl or guy he wanted. 

But considering that they're blatantly straight, only girls surround them. Steve’s mood dampens at this thought.

“I’m gonna go sit next to Scott and Luis,” Sam tells Steve. “Try not to piss off Bucky and Tony.”

Steve sends him a curious look. “What does that mean?”

Sam shrugs, mysteriously, and Steve just watches him go. Before getting pulled to the ground.

He looks over, and Tony’s next to him, holding on to his hand, beaming at him. “Hi, Stevie! Come sit with me and — and whoever those girls were!”

Steve is helpless to do anything but smile back. “Thanks, Tony, but I think I’m gonna go sit with Natasha and Darcy.”

Tony looks put-out, but those girls are crawling over to him, and he's swept away before he says another word to Steve. Steve smiles wryly to himself before going over to Natasha and Darcy Lewis.

Darcy’s a girl who hits on anything with two legs but never sleeps with any of them. Darcy likes gossip and girls, is what Nat says, and that Steve is the only male exception. Darcy agreed vehemently, saying she likes bi guys. Steve just told her that he likes bi girls, and Darcy seemed to grow even more fond of him after that, even though she says she's straight.

“Hey, Nat, Darcy,” Steve greets, plopping down on the floor next to them. They stop they're low chattering to look over at him. Darcy takes one sniff before booing.

“What the fuck, Rogers! Get a drink in you!” she yells, and Steve slumps.

“I don't like drinking,” he says sulkily. “Besides, I can't handle my alcohol.”

Natasha nods in confirmation, taking a swig from her own beer. “It’s true, he takes one sip and he's already tripping over his feet. It’s as cute as it is embarrassing.”

“Gee, thanks, Nat,” Steve huffs, ears heating up.

Another girl is sitting down, right in between Darcy and Steve. It’s Okoye, the quiet, intelligent, intimidating, beautiful girl who’s best friends with T’Challa Udaku. She’s kind of unspokenly the most powerful person at school, but it's whatever.

“Hi,” she says, and she’s dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, but her presence still makes Steve sweat anxiously.

“Hey, KoKo!” Darcy grins, throwing her arms around Okoye, because of course she knows her and is friends with her, she's Darcy Lewis. “What’re you doing over here?”

Steve looks over to Natasha, who is now two people away, and she looks calmly back at him even though they'll both be freaking out about this together later.  _ Fuck. _

“T’Challa and Nakia are doing that weird thing they do when they're silently pining for each other while making polite conversation, so I left them to their own devices,” she shrugs, and she somehow conjures a bottle of expensive alcohol that Steve doesn't even know the name of out of nowhere. She takes a swig, before swinging the bottle to Steve. “Want some?”

Steve lets out a squeak before clearing his throat. “Uh — No thanks.”

“Rogers can't handle his alcohol,” Darcy whispers, and Steve is a second away from running away before Thor is standing up, clearing his throat.

“WE SHALL START THE GAME NOW!” he shouts, and he motions vaguely in the direction of his best friend, Heimdall. “HEIMDALL! TRUTH OR DARE?”

And the game starts. 

Truths are spilled from the most popular people's mouths, and Darcy is practically salivating at all the secrets being shared. Dares are made so the room’s closet gets corrupted, kisses and inappropriate touching is being done, and Steve is slowly sinking further behind his three companions. Sam soon accompanies him, allowing Steve another shield against the dirty things happening in the room. At one point, where Sharon Carter has to do…  _ things _ to Pepper in front of everyone, Steve is hiding so far behind Okoye that she literally takes him by the shoulders and straightens him out. He apologizes, but she just laughs at him.

“This isn't your scene, is it?” she asks him. He shakes his head, frantically.

“Not at all,” he admits. “I’m just here to make sure Bucky and Tony don't do anything  _ too  _ irresponsible.”

She smiles softly. “How long have you been dating?”

Steve flushes red. “What? I’m not dating either one of — ”

“Stark!” Sharon is calling over the cheers of the last dare. “Truth or dare?”

This is Tony’s second time being chosen, the first one being that he had to take off his shirt — which, honestly, Steve's fairly certain if Tony could live without wearing a shirt, he would.

“ _ Dare _ , Miss Carter,” Tony says lazily, now much more drunk than he was when Steve first walked into the room, and he’s lounging against the front of a couch. Next to him is the same group of girls, some passed out and others drunkenly draped across each other. 

Sharon arches a brow at Tony’s shameless confidence, and Steve winces on Tony’s behalf. Only if it includes anything Tony would totally despise doing whilst he’s sober, Steve won't interfere — he’s not  _ that  _ much of a buzz kill, he won’t ruin the fun unless it gets to the point where they told Tony to get naked in front of them which Steve really wouldn't mind see—

“Kiss Barnes for ten seconds,” Sharon says primly. “ _ On the lips. _ ”

The entire circle gets quiet. 

Then the cheers go up again.

Steve feels his cheeks heat with a burn. It’s not exactly hush-hush that Tony Stark and Bucky Barnes hate each other — again, they're quite often in the spotlight, and almost everyone knows that they only tolerate each other because of their mutual friends — which is Steve.

Steve, who has a ridiculous crush on both of them.

So, really, honestly — Is it such a crime that he doesn't really, not necessarily, want to interfere with this dare? Because — Well — Would it be  _ that  _ bad to see Tony and Bucky kiss? On the lips?

To answer that question, no. No, it wouldn't. But gosh, Steve should probably interfere anyways.

“Oh, god,” he moans into his hands, mind racing, and Okoye sends him a calculating glance before turning  back around to cheer the boys on.

He looks up in time to catch Tony's quite-sober face. He’s spluttering. “I — B — I’m not even — I — ”

“Wuss!” yells Pepper, grinning tipsily wide at Tony. 

And Steve outwardly groans, because he knows Tony, and Tony is now gonna get that fucking kiss.

Tony glares in Pepper's general direction before standing up and marching purposefully to Bucky, who immediately stands up himself.

“Fuck, no!” he protests, slightly slurred, but his eyes quite alert. And,  _ really _ , Steve should interfere, but —

“WUSS!” Rhodey yells, copying Pepper, before smiling wide at everyone. The group cheers louder, even more obnoxiously.

When the group starts yelling 'KISS HIM!’ repeatedly, Steve starts to stand up to embarrassingly take his two best friends away, but then —

The two boys clash together, lips mashed, right at the same time, almost like it was orchestrated. 

The crowd drowns out of Steve's ears even though they're louder than ever, and Steve’s wide eyes stay on his two best friends’ liplock. 

And their lips are aggressively put together, smashed in a harsh embrace just like all the insults they hurl at each other, and Steve feels himself turn hot deep in his gut, and he feels like  _ a pervert,  _ and wants to cut deep inside him and get these thoughts about  _ his best friends  _ out, and —

And, oh,  _ shit _ ,  _ is that tongue _ ?!

Steve literally chokes on air as the sound of the room comes back to him. Just as quick as they came together, just as quick as Steve saw that glimpse of tongue, the two push away from each other, making the cheering group boo amidst their laughter.

Tony and Bucky, now five feet away from each other and growing, both look over to Steve. Steve helplessly stares, wide-eyed, back, and then they both look away from him, heads turned down. Steve lets out a small, wounded sound.

“That was actually kind of hot,” Darcy whispers to Okoye indiscreetly. Steve turns bright red.

Sam pats him on the shoulder awkwardly. “You’re gonna have a fun time dealing with that later.”

Steve groans. “Tell me about it,” he chokes out.

“But you must've liked it,” Sam says casually.

Steve nods, still trying to sort his thoughts out.

Then promptly dies.

Well, not  _ really _ , but he turns to Sam, eyes wide. “What.”

Sam sighs, the corners of his lips turned. “I pay attention, Steve! It’s okay that you like Tony and Bucky.”

Steve lets out a high-pitched whine. “How did you even —  _ I didn't even know I liked them both! _ ”

“Shh!” Sam shushes, looking around furtively. “You’re gonna sell yourself out!”

Steve glares witheringly at Sam. “Oh, because  _ that's  _ not already happened.”

Sam looks offended. “You think  _ I’m  _ gonna tell someone? Steve! Bro! Man! I’d never!”

Steve huffs. “I know, I know, but if _you_ knew before me, someone else is bound to know!”

“I knew,” Okoye says, popping her head in Steve’s peripheral. Steve jumps a few feet up before whining.

“Sam!” he complains. “ _ Okoye knew! _ ”

Sam winces. Okoye rolls her eyes. “That’s just because I'm observant, and when I mentioned you dating one of them earlier you looked like you were dying inside. Plus, you both whisper loudly.”

Sam huffs, and Steve moans. “This sucks. And that it’s a guarantee Natasha knows.”

“Nat knows everything,” Sam dismisses. “Anyways, we have to think of a way to not let this get to Bucky and Tony, since — ”

“Okay, okay, me and the greaseball kissed, get over it,” Tony’s yelling over the still obnoxiously gossiping chattering.

Bucky flips off Tony, making a show of wiping his lips. “Fuck yourself, Stark.”

“If not, you will first, right?” Tony barbs, eyes flashing dangerously, and the group laughs, but before Bucky can respond, Tony puts a hand up, quieting them down. “Okay, my turn.”

The group eagerly leans forward.

“Stevie!” Tony exclaims, and Steve immediately straightens, reddening. The group, predictably, cheers. Okoye chuckles from his side, and Sam winces in sympathy.

“Tony?” Steve replies, stiff, and Tony rolls his eyes.

“Calm down, Stevie,” Tony reassures him. “Truth or dare?”

Steve exhales, the group repeatedly chanting 'dare’ since they're actually twelve years old, and hmphs before saying, loudly, “Dare.”

Sam elbows him, sending him a scolding look before shaking his head while Okoye rolls her eyes on his other side, shaking  _ her  _ head, and Steve slowly realizes that that was almost  _ indefinitely _ the wrong choice.

Whatever. He's Steve Rogers, he can do anything anyone can do, and he can do it better.

Tony has a particularly nasty shark grin that still  _ somehow  _ looks attractive in Steve's eyes, and he cocks his head. “Dare, hmm? Well, Stevie, I dare you to…”

Tony gives a cursory glance around the room before turning back to Steve — but not without a second’s glance at one person.

Bucky.

_ Oh, no,  _ Steve groans internally.

“Steve Rogers,” Tony starts dramatically, “I dare you to kiss the one person who you think is most attractive in the room. All participants eligible,” he adds with a charming little grin.

Steve's cheeks turn a cherry red.

The group ooh's again, more coated with a quiet suspense than being obnoxiously cheerful as they were with Tony's dare. Okoye, next to him, is shaking her head still, and Sam has an eternal wince on, depicting Steve's current thoughts.

And, well, shit — How do you kiss the hottest person in the room when there's  _ two  _ of them?

Steve heaves in a breath, his cheeks still heated to the max, and now the group is growing agitated in the wait.

“Come on, Steven!” Thor bellows, suddenly awake. “Put on a show for us!”

“Yeah,  _ Rogers _ !” Scott Lang pushes, and Steve throws a glare at him because he hasn't done one thing to Lang to deserve this type of treatment.

Steve is opening his mouth to say 'Chicken’ — ready to face the consequences of drinking a full bottle of alcohol as the Chicken rule states and to be humiliated in front of a group of cooler, older people — when he hears:

“C’mon, Steve, pick.” 

Straight out of Bucky Barnes’ mouth, who’s steel blue eyes are almost a predatory stare fixed on Steve. Steve lets out an involuntary noise.

And to only add fuel to the flame:

“Yeah, who is it, Stevie?” is said from Tony Stark, and when Steve whips his head back to  _ him,  _ one of Tony's beautifully shaped eyebrows is raised, and his eyes are burning with that fierce curiosity they always seem to have yet there's a deeper tint to it that Steve can't decipher no matter how much he wants to.

Steve's heart is racing a mile a minute. 

In a split second he decides to just stand up and kiss one of them, doesn't matter  _ who,  _ just that he  _ does _ it, and he's getting to his knees, until he gets knocked over to the side, right into Sam. 

And —  _ oh _ .

That's one way out of this.

He looks over to Okoye, and Okoye nods, eyes wide and a telling grin spreading across her lips.

So, well. Steve leans up and plants a kiss on Sam Wilson’s lips.

—————

“I hate everything,” Steve states, muffled in his pillows.

Sam, sitting at his feet and absently scrolling through his phone, huffs. “Tough luck, Rogers. You kissed me in front of every gossip in the school, I’ll never have a chance with anybody.”

It’s Sunday afternoon, the day after the party, and Steve's phone has been eerily quiet since he left said party with Sam considering that he normally gets at least twenty texts from both of his best friends by this time.

So — bad.

“I just don’t understand!” he yells, sitting up. “They never  _ acted  _ like they were bothered by my bisexuality! Now all of a sudden I kiss you, and I’m nothing to either one of 'em!”

Sam huffs,  _ again,  _ setting his phone down. “Oh my god, Steve, did you ever consider that maybe they're hungover?”

Steve opens his mouth to protest, before blinking. Then he smiles wide. “Oh,  _ duh! _ Huh. So I should just wait a little while longer?”

Sam gives him a small, exhausted but amused smile, and nods. “Yes, Steve. Give them time.”

Now it's 8pm on Sunday, the day after the party, and Sam's leaving Steve's house with some lasagna wrapped in a Tupperware box, courtesy of Steve's ma, and has a self-satisfied, but pitying expression on. 

“Yeah, sorry, man, they're mad. See you at school!”

Steve flips Sam off as he walks down the stairs to his car in the driveway, the other boy laughing. “Thanks for nothing, Wilson!”

Sam’s still laughing, as he calls back, “Just text them!”

Steve grins as Sam waves while driving off, then turns on his heel and walks back to the kitchen to help his ma with the dishes.

“Hey, Stevie,” she hums, gently swinging her hips to the tune of the music playing from the old kitchen stereo Tony fixed three years ago. “Sam leave?”

Steve sighs, nodding. “Yeah.” 

She passes the next dish to him, quietly, and he takes it to dry it. She sends him a glance.

“What’s on your mind, peanut butter cup?” she asks lightly.

“Nothing,” Steve replies, staring at the wet droplets on the dish. He puts it away, another one already waiting for him on the counter. He sighs, picking it up.

His ma tsks.  “I know you went to that party last night, was that any fun?”

Steve stiffens. “Sure.”

Sarah Rogers sighs, turning the tap off and spinning to look at him. He busies himself with putting the dish away.

“Okay, lemme see what I've got so far,” Sarah sighs. “The party completely sucked, and that's because it messed everything up with those two knuckleheads who’re always following you around.”

Steve bumps his head on the open cabinet door above him, and he winces. “Ow. Why do you say that, Ma?”

“You didn't have your nose in your phone, grinning like an idiot at all during dinner, and neither one of them have been over, and it's the weekend,” she tells him, eyes twinkling, amusedly. “So, what happened? Did they get into another one of their silly fights?”

Momentarily, Steve wonders if he should put up any more of a fight, but the exhaustion that has been wearing him down since his kiss with Sam decides against it.

“No,” he says glumly. “This time it's all my fault. Worst thing about  _ that  _ is that I don't even know what I did wrong.”

It's quiet for a few spare moments before Sarah clears her throat. “Did they — Did you choose one?”

Steve's eyebrows furrow. “What do you mean?”

Sarah sends him a look. “I mean, did you choose one? To go out with.”

Steve instantly straightens, once again hitting his head on the open cabinet door. “Oh my — Heck —  _ Ma _ !”

Sarah is very indiscreetly giggling. “What, son o’ son?”

His cheeks are burning red, and Steve huffs. “I’m — I don't even — I don't like Tony and Bucky that way!”

Sarah sobers up enough to send him an adequate dry look.

He groans. “How come everyone knew that I liked them that way before I did?”

Sarah patiently waits for him to gather himself, and Steve does so, grudgingly. 

He inhales, and mutters: 

“Well, I guess I do. It’s just that  _ they  _ don't like me that way.”

He doesn't look up, but not long after he releases his confession, his mother's arms are wrapping around him.

“Oh, baby,” she murmurs in his blonde hair, identical to her own. “How do you know that?”

He sighs, burying himself into the embrace. “They’re not gay, ma. Or bi, or pan, or anything else. Just  _ straight. _ ”

“Have they explicitly said that?”

“I’m their best friend — I'd know.”

“Now, Steven Grant Rogers, you, above anyone else, should know that best friends don't tell each other everything,” she scolds. Steve winces, nodding.

“Well —  _ yeah _ , but even then, even if they were somehow miraculously not completely straight, they  _ hate  _ each other, ma,” Steve tells her, tone dripping in misery. “And gosh, I didn't even know  _ I’d  _ be interested in a relationship like this.”

Sarah pulls away, holding Steve by the shoulders. “Steve, you  _ know  _ that's not how relationships work. You can't possibly expect to know everything there is about your preferences unless you know every single eligible partner there is for you.”

Steve looks down, nodding. “I — I know, ma. I just — Can we not talk about this?”

His mother looks on, worried, but eventually purses her lips in obedience. “Okay, Stevie. But is that why you guys aren't talking?”

Steve, absentmindedly, says, “No, that's because I kissed Sam.”

There's a few quiet moments before what he said clicks, and he quickens to say, “No, not like that, it was just a game we were pla — ”

Sarah puts her hands up, an amused smile on her face, as she walks away. “You can kiss who you want, Steve, just have safe sex!”

Steve groans.

—————

“I hate them.”

Sam sighs, turning off the ignition to his car. 

“No, you don't.”

“Yes, I do,” Steve insists.

And he still insistently thinks that as he steadily glares at the back of Bucky's head all throughout first period. 

The other boy had walked in seven minutes late with only an arched eyebrow at the teacher. The teacher had sighed, waving him off, despite his extra amount of dickish behavior today. Steve had not so indiscreetly whispered, ' _ BUCKY! _ ’, a few several times, only to be completely ignored, which —  _ rude _ .

So, Steve hates him. Them. Plural. Well, that depends.

“You and Sam are really cute together,” Jane Foster tells him, smiling wide, while Darcy pulls on her hand to get to class, avoiding eye contact with Steve.

Steve hates her, too.

“We’re not actually toge — oh, the hell with it,” Steve mutters when he realizes the two are already down the hall.

He sighs, shutting his locker closed, then pauses when his eyes catch on a familiar head of stylishly messy brown hair.

“Tony!” he calls, but over the chattering of obnoxious teenage students, his best friend doesn't hear him.

He curses before jogging over to Tony’s direction. “Tones, why — ”

And then he stands to see Tony wrap his arm comfortably around the shoulder of one of his many admirers, smirking wide at the group of people that surround him. Tony spares a second’s glance in Steve’s direction, disinterested, then turns back around to start walking and talking with the group.

Steve stands in the middle of the hallway, mouth gaping open, thinking one thing:

_ I hate them _ .

The lunch table is quiet, an hour and a half later, and Clint hmphs from his position next to Rhodey. “Am I the only one  _ just _ realizing that Tony and Bucky are the reason why our table is usually the loudest.”

Natasha hums. “I realized it a year ago — that's why Bucky got to stay in the group.”

Steve glares mutely at his tray. “I hate them.”

“No, you don't,” Sam retorts, but he's unbothered otherwise, flipping through his history textbook. “I thought Washington was cool, dammit.”

“All of the presidents have had faults,” Rhodey supplies from his spot. And he sighs. “And them not being here is because of the party, isn't it?”

“I hate them,” Steve tells him. Rhodey grimaces, but nods.

Clint huffs. “I still don't understand. Steve kissed Sam, so what?”

“Yeah, but Steve kissed Sam after Tony dared him to kiss the hottest person in the room,” Natasha clarifies. Clint's eyebrows raise.

“Yikes. Steve, you thought Sam was the hottest person in the room where the hottest people in the school were? Can't relate, bro,” Clint says.

“Right here, man,” Sam remarks. “And I was just an out so that Steve didn't have to kiss who he _ did  _ like.”

“Bucky.” Clint.

“Tony.” Rhodey.

“Bucky.” Natasha.

“Tony,” Pepper says, sitting down next to Steve and Rhodey. “We’re talking about who Steve likes, right?”

“Correct,” Natasha confirms. Then raises an eyebrow. “I said Bucky, though.”

Sam and Steve share a surprised look at Natasha's guess.

“No offense, Nat, but it's definitely Tony,” Rhodey counters. “Steve and Bucky are too dude-bro for Steve to like him like that. Him and Tony have chemistry.”

“But Steve has known Bucky for much longer,” Clint argues. “And they have more chemistry than him and Tony!”

“Did you guys ever think about how Steve is sitting right here?” Steve complains, hiding his burning face in his arms. “Oh my gosh, this is so humiliating.”

Pepper pats his arm consolingly.

“And you guys are all wrong,” Sam comments, looking pleasantly surprised. “He doesn’t like Tony, or Bucky, he likes — hmm. Never mind, I’m not telling you.”

“He’s not lying,” Natasha says, only a bit of surprise in her tone. “Who do you like, then, Steve?”

Steve sinks lower in his seat. “None of this helps explain why Bucky and Tony are ignoring me.”

“Yes, it does,” the entire table besides Steve says unanimously.

Steve flings his head up. “What — ”

“Rogers,” a voice says from behind him, and he jumps a good few inches in the air before spinning in his seat.

He sighs when he sees that it’s Okoye. “Hi, Okoye.”

“Hey,” she smiles. “Where’s Stark and Barnes?”

“They’ve been ignoring me,” he says glumly. “And I blame you and Sam.”

“You’re the one who kissed me,” Sam huffs.

Okoye frowns. “I thought they'd have… Hm. Just wait on them, Steve, they'll come back soon.”

“Why are you so all-knowing?!” Steve shouts at her retreating back as she goes back to her table of beautiful, unreachable people. She sends him an amused grin before turning away completely.

When Steve turns back, Natasha glares at him, poking him with her spoon. “Why are  _ you  _ friends with Okoye?”

Steve moans. “I hate everything.”

—————

Okay, this has gone too far. 

It’s been  _ four days  _ since Steve has last talked to his two best friends, the longest he's gone not talking to at least one of them since he's  _ met _ them, and he is getting  _ annoyed, irritated,  _ and  _ sad. _

Because dammit, why can't a guy miss his best friends that he may or may not have massive crushes on?

And maybe it wouldn't be so bad if not for the fact that people  _ refuse  _ to believe that him and Sam are  _ not _ dating. Steve didn’t even know that many people knew he  _ existed,  _ but still:

“You and Sam are goals, Steve, kudos!”

“Nice catch, Rogers, he’s my best player.”

“Oh, and congratulations on the new relationship, Rogers!”

“How in hell did you score Wilson?”

The last one always put a grin on Sam’s face, who Steve spends the majority of his time with nowadays.

Sam hates the rumors just as much as Steve, but reassures him constantly even through his own agitation, and even though the whole ordeal is Steve's cowardly fault.

“They’ll get over it, Steve. They always do.”

Rhodey and Pepper, who both seem to grow more and more sympathetic with Steve everyday, try their best to make Steve keep his chin up, too. Steve's seen them both talk with Tony on multiple occasions, but neither one of them ever come back with reasoning on why Tony's ignoring him. It's beyond frustrating.

Okoye now seems like some type of guardian angel, checking on Steve daily, whether that's before, during, or after school. On one memorable occasion, alongside her was Nakia and T’Challa, and Steve almost peed his pants. After the occasion, he immediately turned to tell Bucky and Tony about it then realized —

He misses his two best friends.

And he doesn’t know  _ why  _ they’re being such dickheads, but he's willing to do  _ anything  _ to get them back, because although he loves Nat, and Clint, and Rhodey, and Pepper, and Sam, he is literally  _ in love  _ with Tony and Bucky, so —

He misses them.

So, determinedly, he plans.

“I’d feel bad for doing this,” Clint says after a moment. “But your Netflix password for three months is more tempting than staying friends with Bucky. Plus, I have no conscience.”

Steve handed over the password. “Use it well.”

The next negotiation, Steve expects, will be much harder.

It isn't.

“I’ll shoot him a text,” Pepper says dismissively, and Rhodey plants his face in his hands, letting out a continuous low whine.

“Peeeepppperrrrrr,” he scolds lowly. She shrugs.

Steve blinks, attempts to keep his defiant stance before failing and blinks again. “W-Wait, what? Really?”

“Please,” Pepper starts, and Rhodey tries to cover her mouth, unsuccessfully. “He needs you just as much as you need him, so I’m doing him a  _ favor. _ ”

Rhodey groans. “She said she’ll text him, okay? Don't push anymore before she cracks.”

“Cracks?” Steve questions, interest piqued.

Pepper glares hotly at Rhodey. “I’ve never  _ cracked,  _ James Rhodes. Anyways, Steve, where do you want him to meet you?”

“Uh,” he stutters. “Piping Pizza, seven o’clock, tonight. The one on — ”

Rhodey rolls his eyes. “He’ll know the place, it's  _ your  _ guys’ place.”

Pepper instantly spins to him, hitting his head, and Rhodey winces before avoiding eye contact with Steve.

The encounter was strange, but he got what he wanted, so.  _ Score _ .

Sam sighs over the phone. “They’re not gonna flake. Bucky never passes up free pizza from anyone, even Clint, and Tony could never say no to Pepper.”

Steve clutches his phone tighter to his cheek. “Yeah, but what if they somehow figured out, oh — Oh.”

“Steve? What is it?” Sam asks worriedly in his ear.

“Uh. They're already in there. And they’re — they're talking,” Steve says.

“Talking?” Sam repeats. “Like civil talking, or Tony and Bucky talking?”

“Ci-Civil talking,” Steve says, burrowing deeper in his coat. “I’m gonna go, Sam.”

“Okay, man,” says Sam, tone soft. “But call me immediately if you need a quick escape.”

Steve shakes his head. “Okay, Sam. Thanks.”

“I’m doing what any great boyfriend would do,” he teases, and Steve groans. “Bye, Steve.”

“Bye, Wilson.”

And, completely alone, Steve walks into the pizza parlour to meet up with his former best friends.

 

—————

“Hello, Steven!” Leo, the owner of the parlour, greets, cheerfully. “Anthony is toward the back with that Barnes boy you sometimes bring along!”

Steve smiles weakly at the man. “Thanks, Leo.”

Steve ventures toward the back, heart racing and he tries to quell it down, because before he was in love with these two boys, they were his best friends in which he confided everything in, and — it's silly to be nervous over them.

Really.

He sees them both, Tony’s leaning back, staring out the window, and Bucky is absently picking at the peeling plastic on the parlour's table. The table they chose is in the corner of the parlour, hidden from sight of anyone besides people who look through the window.

Tony, the one who's facing him, sees him when he spares another glance toward the parlour's doors, and sits up. Bucky arches an eyebrow at Tony then turns to see Steve standing there, momentarily frozen.

For a few seconds they're at a standstill, staring mutely at each other (well, Bucky and Tony staring at Steve, and Steve going back and forth between staring at Tony, then Bucky) before Steve straightens and saunters over to the table, planting his butt on the seat between the two of them around the circular table.

He clears his throat. “Tony, Bucky.”

Tony jerks back, getting ready to stand up, and suddenly Steve’s agitation takes over his anxiety. “Tony Stark, you sit right back down this second or I will  _ lose  _ it.”

Tony instantly sits back down, giving a miniscule little huff, and Steve can't help the tiny smile that takes over his lips.

“Where’s Wilson?” Bucky abruptly asks.

Steve blinks, humor leaving him. “What?”

Tony sighs, more annoyed than exasperated. “I was here to meet up with Pepper. You set me up.”

Bucky’s jaw clenches. “Clint, too?”

Steve shrugs, shamelessly. “Yes, both of them. You guys wanna know why?”

Neither of the boys answer.

Well. This is Tony and Bucky, and romantic feelings aside, they're Steve’s two best friends and he's not laying it easy on them.

“Because you’re both being completely ridiculous!” Steve hisses. “Not only ridiculous, but confusing, and unreasonable, and childish for some unknown reason that all of us are — ”

“Damn it, Steve, you just don't get it — ”

“Get,  _ what _ ?” Steve snaps. 

“Steve, I don't expect you to understand, so that’s exactly why we should take some more time — ”

“Get, understand,  _ what _ , you guys aren’t elaborating, and I have no idea what the hell either one of you are thinking because you aren't talking to me, and — ” Steve breaks off, frustrated. He gestures wildly at Tony. “And  _ you _ always call me Stevie, not Steve, and I’m so confused, so can you just —  _ ugh. _ ”

Tony’s eyes soften incredibly, but his posture is still tense and guarded. Bucky’s not looking at either one of them, seeming like he's attempting to completely ignore the situation, but Steve can't allow that. 

He leans forward, each one of his hands reaching out to grasp one of their hands. Instantly, he gets their attention.

“Can you just — Can one of you just tell me what's wrong?” he asks softly.

They both look at him, eyes deep and searching in his own, and Steve wishes he could give them what they need to find, but he can't find out for the life of him what that is.

“I can't,” Tony blurts. Steve pulls his hands away like he's been burnt.

Bucky starts. “Steve, we — ”

“ _ We, _ ” Steve repeats. “ _ We.  _ When did you two turn into  _ we _ ? You guys — You have to understand how this looks. We go to a party, I kiss a guy, next thing you know both of you start  _ ignoring  _ me  _ together  _ — ”

“This has nothing to do with Wilson being a guy,” Bucky growls, and Tony’s jaw clenches.

“Well, it doesn't  _ seem  _ that way,” Steve snaps. “And when has  _ Sam,  _ our friend since _ elementary school,  _ been called  _ Wilson _ ?”

Tony looks away from Steve, straight at Bucky. Bucky shakes his head, looking away from the both of them.

Steve literally laughs at the incredulousness of it. “ _What is_ _going on_?”

But they're still not answering, and Steve doesn't know what to say, so it's silent besides the hum of the freezer in the backroom of the parlour. 

Then, quiet, Tony asks:

“Why didn't you tell us you liked Sam?”

Steve stares at him blankly. “What?”

Bucky explodes, pulling away from the table, his chair pushing back and falling over from the force of him. 

“Steve, you are  _ literally  _ dating the guy,” Bucky fumes. “You  _ kissed  _ him in front of every single gossiping fuck in the goddamn school, you  _ blushed  _ like a fucking virgin on prom night _ ,  _ then you  _ went home with him.  _ You wanted to know how this looked to us? That’s it _. _ ”

Steve’s eyes are wide and surprised at his best friend, speechless. He blinks, then looks over to Tony, who’s still avoiding eye contact with him, but says:

“As your best friends,” and his voice is a dangerously controlled steady, “we think we deserved to know that you were planning to fuck him before you gave everyone in that damn room that message. But, of course — all that extra attention must've been a cherry on top. Right, Rogers?”

Steve pulls away, the weight of both their words hitting him like a train, and he opens his mouth to speak, but still finds no words.

Bucky nods, nostrils still flared and posture still agitated. “Yeah. Yeah, I wouldn't know what to say to us either.”

Steve feels his throat close up, the back of his eyes burning, and just thinks  _ fuck it,  _ because these two boys are _ assholes _ that just — for all the years they've known him, don't know him  _ at all. _ Steve feels his resolve melt out of him — the anxiety, the anger, the hope, the confusion, now he's just  _ done _ .

He pulls his phone out of his pocket, ignoring Bucky's 'what the fuck are you doing now?’, and texts Sam if he could come pick him up quickly. Sam texts back immediately, telling him he’s already on his way.

He pockets his phone, standing up himself. “What I was doing, was texting my friend, Sam, to come pick me up,” he says, voice wavering and almost breaking, but  _ damn it,  _ he’s gonna say this without fucking  _ crying. _

The other two turn even more red on the ears, looking irritated and enraged beyond hell. Steve pushes past his emotion.

“And I asked him so, because the two  _ douchebags  _ that I thought were the two very best people in the world  _ assumed  _ something about me that they, above all people, know to be wrong,” Steve cuts out.

Tony looks at him first, eyes comprehensive yet still  _ angry,  _ and Bucky looks at him next, his eyes weighing of the same emotion.

Steve swallows past a dry throat. “I’m not interested in giving my virginity anytime soon. You both _ knew  _ that, yet you still — ”

And now Tony stands too, eyes still working through the problem but heavy with regret and guilt because he finally realizes how much of a  _ dick  _ he's been, but Steve puts a hand up, keeping the distance between them, between him and Bucky, too.

“Don’t,” he says, voice cracking. “Don’t…  _ do  _ that, please, just — ”

Bucky’s shaking his head, rapidly. “Steve — ”

“I thought  _ I  _ did something wrong _. _ ” Steve shudders. “But no, I kiss Sam Wilson because he was an  _ out _ to an uncomfortable question and I ask for a ride home, but apparently that means I  _ slept _ with him, even though you  _ both _ knew  _ I’m saving myself! _ ”

Tony looks away, sharply, and Bucky’s jaw clenches shut, tight.

“I’m — I — ” Steve struggles to find the right words. “I need a break. A long…  _ long _ , long break. From the both of you.” Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Sam pull up outside, rushing out of his car. 

“I thought our friendship came first,” Steve finalizes, because he _ did,  _ and that’s why he didn't just  _ ruin  _ it when he found out about his feelings for them. “But instead it was…  _ whatever  _ problem you had with me losing my virginity to Sam Wilson, as if I did.”

“Steve,  _ no — _ ” Tony protests, but Sam opens the door of the parlour, eyes zoning in on the situation.

“You ready to go, Steve?” he asks lightly, and Steve nods once before walking over. Both him and Sam ignore the calling behind him.

—————

“Men suck,” Jane Foster tells him.

Steve looks up, eyebrows furrowed. 

She smiles, sympathetically. “I heard about how you and Sam weren't actually together. And you’ve looked so bummed lately… He's been leading you on, hasn't he?”

Steve blinks a couple times, before finally saying, “I never even thought of him that way. At all.”

She just sends him another sympathetic smile.

Bucky’s already in first period before Steve gets there, which is a first. He’s waiting by Steve's desk, his eyes were trained on the door, and he straightens when Steve walks in. Steve stares at him mutely for a few seconds before walking over to the teacher's desk to hand in his homework. He had a few questions, anyways, and they'll burn enough time before class starts.

He narrowly avoids Bucky when he leaves the classroom, and he catches the early period release wave that hides him as he quickly exchanges his books and gets his jacket from his locker, and he flies through the halls to get to the Science buildings.

Only to see Tony Stark waiting coolly outside the door, head turning every time the door opens. 

Steve inhales sharply before consciously relaxing himself and, with a group of girls that he knows from Darcy, goes out the door.

Tony spots him in a second.

“Steve,” he calls, jogging toward him, but Steve sees the line is nonexistent in front of the Science building, so he can get a quick escape.

He spins on his feet. “I have my jacket,” says Steve, his voice cold. “And I won't need yours again.”

That makes Tony freeze, mouth halfway open with a heartbroken expression weighing down his face. 

Steve just shrugs, turning around, and quick-walking to his building.

Sam catches him before lunch. “They’re at the table.”

Steve sighs. “I kind of expected that.”

Sam eyes him as he slams his locker close. “You gonna tell me what they did?”

“Not in the mood, Sam,” Steve grunts, starting his trek toward the cafeteria. 

Sam hmphs. “Well, what are you gonna do, ignore them?”

“Did it for the last two periods,” Steve shrugs. 

“It’ll be harder when you're sitting five feet away from them,” Sam points out. “Look, I’ll help you out. Just don't… Completely ignore them. That’d be terribly sad and pathetic to watch them pout, so just — we’ll help you out.”

Steve arches an eyebrow at him, but shrugs, saying: “Sure, do what you can.”

As soon as Steve and Sam start walking through the crowds to get to their table, Bucky and Tony spot them.

Tony cocks his head, obviously pleasantly surprised that Steve actually came for lunch, and Bucky looks surprised, as well, with determination laced in.

Steve steadily looks on, not exactly avoiding their eye contact but not meeting it. “I’m getting cold feet, Wilson,” he mutters. Sam elbows him in the side.

“Well, suck it up, we're already at the table,” he shoots back, and then he's smirking wide. “So, Nat, where's the boy toy?”

Clint is staring at Bucky and Tony dubiously, Rhodey and Pepper doing the same, but Natasha seems like normal, digging into her tamale pie. “Shut up, Wilson.”

“Boy toy?” Steve asks, casually, sliding into the seat next to Natasha. Sam swiftly fills in the seat next to Steve, cutting both Bucky and Tony off as they scrambled. Steve hides a grin.

Natasha’s rolling her eyes. “It’s nothing to worry your little head about, Steve, Sam’s just being an ass.”

“Sam can't be an ass, he’s too nice,” Pepper cuts in, and Sam beams at her.

“ _ Thank you,  _ Miss Potts,” he says, and Pepper smiles pleasantly back at him. Then, like he finally noticed they were there, Sam grins wide at Bucky and Tony. “Buck! Tones! We haven’t seen you in awhile!”

Steve chokes on his carrot on a laugh, and in his peripheral, Steve sees Natasha bite back a grin herself.

Rhodey, seemingly enjoying this new game Sam’s made, nods in agreement. “I gotta say, Sam's right, man. Where have you guys  _ been _ ?”

“We’re  _ seniors,  _ and we haven’t been as busy as you two,” Pepper adds lightly, taking a sip of her soft drink. “We’re just  _ burning  _ to know what has been taking up  _ all  _ of your time.”

Natasha hums. “You were gone so long, it was like you were _ avoiding  _ us. Strange, hm?”

Clint nods. “Extremely. Can I have your applesauce, Steve?”

Steve passes it over with a wordless grin. Clint grins back.

Bucky is glaring resignedly at the table, and Tony looks on, expressionless, at the group. Steve quells down the immediate feeling that he needs to  _ comfort, comfort, comfort  _ till the two start smiling.

“I suppose we deserve that,” Tony says, tone impassive.

“Damn right,” Rhodey sniffs. Hr motions vaguely in the direction of the two of them. “You guys go on a little honeymoon?”

Tony shoots Rhodey a look, that Rhodey just arches an eyebrow at. Bucky's still glaring at the table. 

“Are we still having to stay in the dark as to why Tony and Bucky were avoiding Steve like the plague?” Clint asks curiously, and the two of them tense.

Steve hums. “They were just being assholes, Clint, that's it.”

Tony makes a dying noise in the back of his throat, which makes the full table besides Steve glare at him. He slumps in his seat, and Steve keeps mentally repeating,  _ he's an ass, he’s not adorable, he's an ass, he's not adorable — _

“Hey, Steve,” Okoye greets, pausing in her usual accompanying grin. “Looks like they're back.”

Bucky and Tony both squint at her. Then look at Steve.

Steve clears his throat. “Yep. Wanna sit down, Ko?”

Okoye raises a brief brow. “Wish I could. T’Challa, Shuri, Nakia, W’Kabi and I are all going to get Mexican. You can come along if you want?” she offers with a not so discreet pointed glance at Steve's two former best friends.

Steve sighs, smiling wryly. “I think I’ll stay back this time — ”

“ — but I’ll go!” Clint cuts in, shamelessly, throwing Steve a look that clearly states:  _ You're an idiot. _

Okoye looks at Clint. Shrugs. “Okay. Bye, Steve. Good to — well, actually, I see you, Stark, Barnes.”

Steve rolls his eyes, humored but cheeks a bit heated, and nudges Okoye away, and Clint follows her, grinning cheekily at the back of Natasha's head while Natasha just flips him off without turning around.

“When did you make friends with Okoye and T’Challa?” Bucky asks blatantly. 

Rhodey snorts. “Since he stopped associating with  _ you two.  _ Anyways — I wanted to tell all of you, and even with Clint miraculously gone there's more here than the past few weeks — Christmas, I’m gonna be gone.”

Everyone's jaws drop.

“What?” Tony finally splutters outs, eyes wide and showing utter  _ betrayal  _ — Tony's always been melodramatic.

“Family visit,” Rhodey explains through a sigh. “My great grandma, the one in California — she can't come to the graduation in May, so… She’s old, guys. She wants to see me one more time before I graduate. And honestly, I’d like to see her, too.”

Sam hmphs. “And not see  _ us _ ?”

Rhodey snorts. “I see your idiots’ mugs everyday — I  _ never  _ get to see my grandma.”

Steve gives a very weak smile to Rhodey. “I — I understand, Rhodey, but… You're sure gonna be missed, I mean — I —  _ we _ haven't had the Christmas party without you in a  _ long  _ time.”

Rhodey’s expression softens as he looks at Steve. “I know, Steve. And I'll miss _you_ — and Nat, and Pepper, that's it, shut up, Tony — but my family will miss me _more_ if I’m not there with _them_.”

The table quiets down, and Pepper sighs before leaning over a bit and hugging Rhodey. “Well, we still have a week till Christmas break, then nearly a week before Christmas, so! Let's just… Use it up?”

The mood around the table brightens up a bit.

Rhodey gives a wry half-smile. “Yeah. I’m leaving on the second day of break, so…”

The mood gets gloomier.

—————

The next week flashes by quick. 

Steve's entire weekend is spent between Sam’s and Nat’s, alternating, because Bucky and Tony both visit his house frequently to try and talk — and Steve… Steve and Sam and Nat all know that Steve will most likely open that front door for either one of them. Steve's mother always visibly shows herself in the living room window before blatantly ignoring the knocking because if Steve got anything from his ma, it's her pettiness.

Rhodey’s departure just before Christmas is coming slowly, and the entire group is aware of it — including Tony and Bucky who are continuing to sit at the table again, despite no warm welcomes from the majority of the table. Steve still has to run away from math, and rush quickly to science, but a lot of the time Sam or Thor or Nat accompany him — the latters just because they're nice like that, and Sam’s just always great.

And when Steve's not running away from the very two obvious problematic boys in his life, he's thinking about them on repeat, both of them just floating around in his mind, bugging his heart.

And damn it — Steve  _ tries  _ to stop thinking about them, to stop  _ — loving  _ them so damn much, but that's not how it works, you don't love someone for the entirety of your life, or even the last five years of your life, then just —  _ stop,  _ it's not how it works, and when it comes to Bucky and Tony, everything, all of Steve’s feelings are  _ magnified, _ and he cares so much even though they  _ hurt  _ him so damn much, and

And Steve feels too much, maybe that's why — for once in his life — he's running away from the problem, instead of facing it head on.

Sarah Rogers, in all her motherly goodness, understands, of course.

Doesn't mean she won't point it out.

“So Mrs. Rhodes told me about the trip,” she comments lightly while they're at the dinner table, a few days after break started and the day the group said goodbye to Rhodey, and damn it, Steve should've known that his ma and Rhodey's ma have been fraternizing this entire time, but it just never occurred to him. Rhodey's ma always seems so nice.

He clears his throat. “Um… I — yeah. Yeah, Rhodey’s visiting his grandma — his great grandma, for uh — for Christmas break. It’s — yeah.”

Sarah hums, forking some of the leftover chicken they're having for dinner to her mouth. “Hmm. So are you all completely cancelling the day after Christmas dork party?”

“Gee, I’ll tell the group you called them all dorks, they’ll appreciate  _ that _ a lot,” Steve says sarcastically, but with one look from his ma, he quickly apologizes. “Anyways — I don't know if we’re gonna do it, okay? It won't be the same without — ”

Steve cuts off shortly. His ma sighs, dropping her fork.

“What happened to my little boy that’s worst drama was that Bucky had left all of his colored pencils dull, not even sharpening them?” his ma asks, chuckling. “Or that Tony had given him too many  _ new  _ colored pencils, and how on  _ earth _ were you to pay him back?”

Steve’s jaw clenches, and he continues to toy around with his food.

Sarah leans over, clasping her son’s hand. “I know that you're older, Stevie, I  _ know  _ that, and that whatever things happened between you and those two knuckleheads must've been bad if you’ve reacted this way, but. Steve, think really hard about Christmas.”

Steve looks even lower down, but Sarah tsks, and he looks up, biting his lip, hard.

“Bucky’s _ just  _ gotten you back, this is the second Christmas he'll have you with him again, and remember how bright he was last year? He was  _ vibrating  _ with energy, he stayed here almost 24 hours a day for a week — gosh, Steve, even with Tony there, he was so happy,” Sarah whispers. “At home, though, Steve? He has his aunt and uncle — who love him very much — but haven't been together on Christmas in  _ years.  _ Just — without you, without Tony, without  _ any  _ of you… He’ll be alone there.

“And, my god, Anthony Edward Stark,” Sarah shakes her head. “That boy has spent the last five years’ Christmas with you, and still, every damn time, he looks like he can't believe he's here, unwrapping presents, looking up at Edwin like he thinks he’ll take him away soon, and he's nearing eighteen years old! His home, Stevie? He has Jarvis, yeah, but he also has empty seats where his mother and his damned father aren't sitting. He has empty memories, Stevie, but — but with you?

“They both depend on you so much,” Sarah tells him, and her eyes are glittering. “And that makes me feel so — so  _ proud  _ because I  _ know  _ my little boy is such a good man that two hard-headed,  _ stubborn  _ boys have just — have found a  _ home  _ in him. Because that's what you are to them.”

And now Steve feels a few tears slip down his cheeks, his eyes welling up. He swallows, even though it doesn't help at all.

“They — They hurt me, ma,” he whispers hoarsely.

Sarah’s hand tightens. “Don't you think I’m telling you to forgive them, Steve Rogers. No one on earth will ever hurt my boy and I let go no grudges intact, but listen close, Steve Rogers — you've known those boys, and you've loved them, and  _ I  _ know you, and  _ I  _ love you, and you know that they want to be forgiven, can tell from their visiting this house every other hour, and  _ I _ know that you’ve already forgiven them.”

Steve's crying steadily now, and he shakes his head, despite them both knowing her words are true.

Sarah nods, fiercely, but she's got tears welling up, too. “Yes, you do, Steve. You know to never lie — ”

“Especially to myself,” Steve chokes out, finishing the mantra.

Sarah nods again, her lip quivering. “Yes, my baby boy, never. So, listen, Stevie, darling — why don't you tell them you’ve forgiven them? Hmm?”

Steve shakes his head, more, and inhales shakily. 

“Words, Steven Grant Rogers,” his ma says sternly, but her soft expression and her thumb that rubs his knuckles over and over disputes her tone. It takes a while, but Steve eventually calms a bit, steadying his breathing.

“I — I can't,” he shudders, wiping his tears hastily. “I — I just — ”

“Steve,” she pleads, softly.

“They’ll wanna go back to how it was  _ before _ ,” he finally blurts. “But I — I  _ can't _ , Ma. I can't act like I — like I’m not irrefutably  _ in love _ with them, with Tony, and with Bucky, with the idea of both of them, and me, and — and — ”

Sarah walks around the table and hugs her son tightly, and Steve immediately folds into her, releasing more sobs.

She shushes him. “I — Oh,  _ Stevie. _ ”

And they stay like that for a long time, Steve wrapped in the one person in his life that he has _ no  _ secrets from, no facades, wrapped in his  _ mom _ . And he may have had that with Tony and Bucky, but his ma — she loves him, and he loves her back.

They don't feel like that for him.

But Sarah abruptly pulls away, and when Steve peers up at her, her eyes are dry and stern. He swallows, intimidated.

“Steve Rogers,” she scolds, “you are my son, and you know what that means? You  _ never  _ give up. And you've done so well with that for the majority of your life, but right now? You never even started  _ trying  _ for Tony and Bucky!”

Steve gapes at his mother, tears momentarily stopped.

“Close your mouth, you'll catch flies,” she snaps. Steve shuts his mouth. “Now, listen — on December 24th, you are going to invite both of those morons to this home, and you are going to sit them down, give them the lecture of their life, give them a hug, then spend Christmas happy, because damn it, I haven't seen you truly happy since they stopped talking to you.”

Steve continues to stare at her.

She rolls her eyes, the action making her look unbelievably young. “Do you understand what I just said, Steve Rogers?”

Steve blinks. Then nods, slowly. “I’m going to invite Tony and Bucky here on Christmas Eve, tell them they're the worst, hug them, then be… happy?”

Sarah nods approvingly. “Good to know somewhere in that head something works. Now finish your dinner, the ice cream I bought today was on sale, so it's almost expired.”

Sarah moves back to her chair, picking up her fork like nothing happened, and Steve blinks again. Then, like any Rogers, nods, and acts like nothing happened.

—————

“You sure you're gonna do this, Steve?” Sam asks wearily over the phone. “You know you don't have to, right?”

Steve huffs a bit. “I know, Sam. But… Ma’s — of course — right. I’ve… I forgave them a long time ago, and it's only fair, to them as much as it is to me, that I'm truthful.”

Sam's quiet for a moment, before: “Which means you're telling them…”

“That I’m in love with them, yeah.” Steve laughs bitterly. “It’s gonna be quite the Christmas.”

“Nat, Clint, Pepper, Bruce, Thor, Peter, and I are all gonna be at the party after Christmas,” Sam tells him sternly. “And I heard Okoye might come, too. We’ll be there for you, Steve, we will.”

Steve hopes his silence is enough of a thanks, because he doesn't think he'll be able to choke one out right now.

“And hopefully Bucky and Tony will be, too,” Steve replies gently. Sam sighs.

“See ya later, Steve,” Sam says. “Call me.”

“Of course,” Steve remarks, and the call is over.

Steve’s fingers hesitate above his phone screen. 

He breathes in, unblocks Tony's and Bucky's numbers (what did he say, he's petty, alright?), and opens up the group chat for the three of them, which last text was a message from Steve saying that he caught a ride from Sam to come home for the party, and to not rush themselves (okay, on top of paranoia, Steve can  _ kind of  _ see how they'd get the wrong idea.) He types in:

**Stevieeee**

You're both coming to my house in an hour, and you’re going to sit in my living room, listen to me yell at you, then we’ll wait for my ma to come home, and we’ll celebrate Christmas Eve, Christmas, and have the dorky after Christmas party like we always do.

_ sent 10:46am _

**Stevieeee**

Of course, feel free to invite Jarvis for Christmas morning, Tony.

_ sent 10:46am _

**Stevieeee**

Do you both understand?

_ sent 10:47am _

**Tonyyyy**

_ YES! _

_ sent 10:48am _

**Buckyyyy**

ABSOLUTELY!

_ sent 10:50am _

Steve’s cheeks flush at the enthusiastic replies, and he rolls his eyes, a small smile reaching his lips.

**Stevieeee**

Just… An hour, okay, boys?

_ sent 10:51am _

**Tonyyyy**

What if, on my way over, I realize that I forgot about adjusting the time for daylight savings?

_ sent 10:51am _

**Stevieeee**

Daylight savings was at the beginning of November, Tony.

_ sent 10:52am _

**Tonyyyy**

Come on, I forget stuff, sometimes!

_ sent 10:52am _

Steve swallows back the laugh bubbling in his throat.

**Stevieeee**

Just come at noon, Tony.

_ sent 10:52am _

**Tonyyyy**

:( Okay.

_ sent 10:53am _

**Buckyyyy**

...what if I have ice cream in the back when I leave a half hour early, and I don't want it to melt?

_ sent 10:55am _

Steve lets the laughter fall out.

**Stevieeee**

JUST COME AT NOON.

_ sent 10:56am _

—————

Steve clears his throat. “Coming!”

Steve’s hands frantically attempt to flatten down his hair, and he straightens his blue sweater, patting the tops of his black jeans down, wiping away invisible dust.

“Just open the door, Rogers,” he mutters, and he inhales deeply before pulling his front door open.

Tony Stark (who has heavier-than-ever bags under his eyes and looks freshly showered) and Bucky Barnes (who smells heavily of soap and toothpaste and Steve can only hope it was alcohol), smiles wide and peering up at Steve, are waiting outside, hands shoved in their pockets, anxiety radiating off of them, snow stuck to their dark strands of hair and dusting their shoulders.

For him.

_ Well, duh, of course — You called them and invited them, you dumb blonde _ , somewhere deep in Steve's head rolls it's eyes.

Steve stares at them, eyes wide.

They stare back.

Steve swallows. “Would you guys like to come in?”

“Uh — Sure, yeah — If it's not problem — Sure — ” 

Steve spins on his fluffy-socked heels, trying to organize his thoughts. 

Behind him, Tony and Bucky rush to take their snowy shoes off, murmuring things excitedly to each other, and that makes Steve’s neck heat up and his heart soar, because gosh, they’d never been so…  _ friendly  _ with each other.

It's like seeing your cat and dog get along for the first time — except that you're in love with said animals, and their behavior toward each other fully matters in your fantasies of the three of you living happily ever after.

Ahh.

Steve turns into the living room, and stands at the front of the room, arms crossed and waiting patiently for the other two, who follow quickly behind. Steve motions for them to sit down, and they do. He squares his shoulders.

The three of them look at each other for awhile, before Steve sighs.

“You’re both idiots,” he tells them.

“Oh,  _ definitely _ — ” Bucky agrees vehemently.

“ _ Completely  _ out of line — ” Tony adds in.

“Beyond  _ insanity _ ,” Bucky says seriously to Steve. Steve consciously has to push back the grin that wants to rise on his lips at that one.

Steve nods, approvingly. “You’re both also assholes.”

“I’ve looked at myself in the mirror for the last seventeen years, and have said the same thing,” Tony swears, eyes genuine.

“It’s like a disease,” Bucky backs up. “But I’m — we're  _ both  _ trying to fix that up, honest.” Tony nods.

Steve purses his lips. “And you need to apologize to Sam.”

“I’ll go down the street right now and do it, watch,” Bucky says righteously.

“I’ll be right behind him!” Tony defends.

Steve arches a brow at them. “And overprotective.”

They glance at each other.

“Overly is kind of stretching it, c’mon,” Bucky starts.

“I mean, we’re  _ kind of,  _ but you're our best friend — ” Tony continues, but Steve raises the other eyebrow. He dies down. “I — Yeah, we’re overprotective.”

Steve rolls his eyes, plopping down to sit in the loveseat diagonal to the couch they preside on.

“What am I even gonna  _ do  _ with you two idiots,” he groans. 

“ _ Your  _ two idiots,” Tony instinctively says, then he winces. But Steve lets a small smile slip. The other two perk up.

Steve closes his eyes for awhile. “ _ My  _ two idiots.”

Bucky lets out a whoop of joy, and Tony gives that same, beaming smile at Steve, like _Steve_ _just showed him the whole world._

Steve's then instantly piled on by two boys that have at least five inches and thirty pounds on him, and he lets out an ' _ oof _ ’, before grinning into one of the boys’ shirts.

“You guys have to promise to not do that again,” he whispers.

“Promise,” they simultaneously agree, voices full to the brim with sincerity and honesty and loyalty and Steve clings onto them tighter.

A minute or so passes before Steve pulls away. “Now get your butts off me!”

Tony whines, but pulls away with a smile on his face. “But you  _ love  _ my ass, Rogers!”

And, well. That sobers Steve up real quick.

_ You  _ never _ give up. And you've done so well with that for the majority of your life, but right now? You never even started  _ trying _ for Tony and Bucky! _

Steve gnaws his bottom lip as his mother's words echo in his mind.

Bucky and Tony both immediately pale, too. 

“What’s wrong?” Bucky quickens to ask. “Was it us? Do you need more time? Do you need your inhaler?”

Steve chokes out a laugh. “No, no, Buck. But… I  _ do  _ have to tell you guys something. And it's… It's very, very,  _ very  _ important.”

The two of them split, sitting on his either side.

“What is it, Stevie?” Tony asks softly, and Steve feels his heart  _ swell,  _ because that's the first time he's heard him call him that in  _ much too long. _

He breathes in.

“Can you guys answer a question for me?” he quires, and instantly receives nods of confirmation. “Great — what do you guys think of each other now? Because — Because that really is important to me, always has been, and always will be, and — and if this whole stupid situation somehow improved your relationship, well… Well, that'd be great. Something good among the ugly, you know?” he rambles out.

His two best friends awkwardly look away, and Bucky scratches the back of his neck. Which makes Steve look at his ears. Which are red. Steve’s eyebrows fly up, and he looks over at Tony, who is unsuccessfully hiding reddening cheeks.

Oh, god.

“I — Do you guys like each other?” Steve blurts, and it came out a bit blunt and probing, but well. Gosh.

Gosh.

And —  _ oh my god _ — Bucky's ears turn even  _ more  _ red and his neck started pinkening, too, and Tony's blush is now spreading from his cheek to all over face, down his throat, and —

“ _ You guys like each other?! _ ” Steve squeaks.

Bucky makes a squeaky noise, and Tony starts rambling. “I mean, that's a loaded question — I liked Barnes before, he was an okay dude that always made sure you were okay, and when I was on trips or whatever, he was here, and when — ”

“He started it!” Bucky blurts. “It — The dare! That stupid kiss!”

Steve laughs, feeling his chest lighten. “You guys — oh my god, you’re  _ gay _ !”

The other two’s mouths shut close, like Steve just released a  _ huge  _ secret, even though a) they just said they had totally not straight crushes on each other, and b) currently, they're the only three people in Steve's house.

“Pan,” Tony protests weakly. 

“Bi,” Bucky obliges.

Steve can't stop giggling.

“Why’s this so funny?” Bucky hmphs, grumpy like he is most of the time.

“Because — Because you two  _ like each other,  _ yet you still haven't said a single thing  _ directed toward each other  _ since you walked  _ in _ !” Steve giggles harder. It takes a second, but he then giggles out: “Honestly. I — How would you guys ever make this work  _ without _ me?”

When he's met with silence with that comment, Steve blinks, then realizes the weight of those words. And realizes just what all of this means — Bucky liking Tony, Tony liking Bucky, and them being his best friends that he has enormous crushes on, and that meaning he’ll have to watch them being all happy and coupley with each other while he sits there for eternity and  _ pines _ and oh,  _ gosh  _ —

He scrambles to fix his mistake. “I didn't mean it like — ”

“We can't,” Bucky says lowly.

Steve blinks. His eyebrows furrow. “You guys can't what?”

Tony swallows audibly next to him. Bucky looks away.

Steve rolls his eyes, irritated. “This,  _ again,  _ guys, we  _ just  _ got over — ”

“We couldn't make a relationship work without you, Stevie,” Tony interrupts gently. “We — We wouldn't  _ want _ to, either.”

Steve blinks.

He sits up.

“Are you saying — ”

“That we want to be in a romantically involved, long-lasting threesome with you?” Bucky rushes out. “Yes, very much so.”

Steve blinks again. Pinches himself, then winces.

“With — With  _ me _ ?” he says, tone small.

But the two boys themselves are gradually closing up, scared in the face of rejection.

“It’s — We didn't expect you to say yes, just — ”

“Please don't give up on us for this, we won't make any passes on you or anything — ”

Steve, brain finally catching on to what just happened, blinks one more time, before leaning over and quickly planting a kiss on Bucky's cheek, then on Tony's. His own cheeks heat up.

“Uhm… I’d very, very…  _ very  _ much like to be in a romantically involved, long-lasting, threesome relationship with you two,” he clears his throat. “Very much so.”

His two best friends, eyes blue and brown, stare at him, astonished. Then —

“Guys — !” he exhales as he's bombarded by the two boys again, kisses landing all over his red cheeks. “Guys!”

Tony's giggling really uncharacteristically, and Bucky's smiling so goofy-like it's almost like he’s a cartoon character, and Steve knows he's doing both actions like the lovesick idiot he is.

The kisses don't die out after a very long time, but Steve eventually gets his two — best friends? boyfriends? lovers?  _ partners _ ? —  _ whatevers _ off of him.

Bucky's eyes are wide when he pulls away, glistening with a thousand emotions that Steve is barely now seeing — full of  _ love _ .

For Steve.

Steve, who is —  _ very  _ overwhelmed right now.

“So, you both… You both — both like me? Like — like,  _ like  _ me?” he stutters out, his cheeks still flaming, and Bucky rolls his eyes at him while Tony picks up his hand, holding it tight.

“Steve, I've 'like, like’d you since we were twelve years old,” Tony tells him, a sharp grin masking the childish excitement lurking in his expression. (Because Tony’s always been good with masks, just never with Steve.)

Steve exhales. “Oh.”

Bucky snorts. “C’mon, doll, do you even remember the night I left? That was some Ryan Gosling shit.”

Steve laughs, and feels the red draining out of his cheeks. “For  _ that  _ long? I feel bad to tell you both, but I realized I liked you two a day before the party.”

They both pout, and Steve rolls his eyes. “Trust me, I am now  _ fully _ aware of both of your attractive attributes, now.”

Tony grins, cheekily. “And Bucky's aware of mine, too.”

“Shut up, Stark,” Bucky says back, but his smirk is just as smug. “I’ve seen you staring at my ass long before this even started.”

Steve laughs as Tony hmphs. “It’s distracting, no matter who they also have a blinding crush on. And — honestly, has anyone  _ not  _ stared at my ass?”

Bucky sits back. “That’d be a crime.”

“A complete felony,” Steve agrees, seriously, and Tony grins wide.

“Thank you, you’re both on the Nice List,” he informs them. “I have connections with the Big C. Anyway, now let's talk about Steve's ass!”

Bucky shoots back up. “A work of art!”

“Better than the entire Renaissance,” Tony adds, and Steve quickly covers both of their mouths, the heat pouring back into his cheeks and neck.

“Unfortunately enough,” Steve coughs. “Even with two, new, attractive boyfriends — ” and wide smiles are stretching underneath the palms of his hands “ — I’m  _ still _ saving myself!”

And Steve feels himself fall just  _ that  _ much more in love with his two boys when not a single ounce of annoyance or regret passes on their faces.

“I don't know,” Tony hums, eyes flashing mischievously. “I’m not sure I can contain myself — ”

“Might slip up, myself,” Bucky agrees. “Since we both know how…”

Steve pales, scooting impossibly deeper into the sofa. “I swear, I will break this entire thing up if either one of you even tries — ”

Ah, crap, they're tickling him.

Through merciless bouts of laughter, Steve pushes them away to no avail. They only stop when the front door opens, and footsteps fall till Sarah Rogers peeks into the room to see who’s  _ torturing  _ her son.

She lets her eyes hover over the three of him, at their messed up hair, and Steve's slightly pulled up sweater, and Bucky and Tony's matching stupid grins, and Steve's dumbstruck look, and shakes her head.

“Don’t go deflowering my son on my couch, James Barnes and Anthony Stark,” she warns, and they turn red. “And don't break his heart, again, either — you'll get much worse than a few misplaced calls and petty pranks.”

The two nod fervently, but Steve's brows furrow, and, still panting from the tickling, asks, “Calls? What calls?”

“Nothing,” Tony quickens to say when Steve's ma sends him a glare. Steve whines, but Sarah cuts him off with:

“Feel free to get back to business, boys, I’ll start on the cookies.” And Steve's being tickled again.

A minute or two later Bucky has to run to get Steve's inhaler, and an hour or two later Steve's ma botches up the cookies, and later after that Steve and Bucky and Tony kiss a lot, and a day or two after that all of their friends — with Rhodey on Skype — roll their eyes at the Christmas party but congratulate the three, and for a very long time after that?

Steve Rogers is very happy with his two idiots, even if he left his sanity somewhere along the line to get to loving them.

**Author's Note:**

> and they lived happily ever after ;)
> 
> i had to include okoye, obviously, because i stan her so hard — and, of course, i made sam the angel that he is. i get that steve, tony, and bucky are a little OOC at times, but remember: this is an alternate universe, and more importantly, a work of fiction. they're not going to be exactly like the movies or comics have them written, but i'm sorry if they were way off.
> 
> anyways — thanks so much for reading! comments, kudos, and bookmarks are always appreciated! <3


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